


Love Actually (Damie Edition)

by Shananigans402



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, But also not that much Christmas, Cheating, Christmas, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Inspired by Love Actually, Rating changed for chapter 7, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:54:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 57,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28244991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shananigans402/pseuds/Shananigans402
Summary: Just as the title suggests - it's Love Actually, Damie EditionEach chapter will explore one of the main storylines/pairings in Love Actually, only they're all Dani and Jamie, because what could be better?Each chapter is set around Christmas, but the amount of holiday spirit and overall Christmassiness depends on the chapter and what direction my brain decided to take it in.Major themes, storylines, and bits of dialogue are carried over from Love Actually. Characters taken from The Haunting of Bly Manor. Significant creative liberties taken with both.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 177
Kudos: 142





	1. Colin and the Americans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter is inspired by a different storyline in Love Actually; however, I did my best to change things up and make it fit Damie as much as possible. Only a few lines will be preserved from the movie, others vaguely inspired by the movie, and much of the dialogue is completely new. Each chapter will be titled after the movie pairing. 
> 
> I’m trying to get these written and posted as quickly as I can (goal is to have them all up by Christmas), so unfortunately I won’t have as much time to edit as I’d like. I apologize in advance for any typos!

“I figured it out,” Jamie proudly announced as she slid onto the bar stool beside her friend Owen.

“That weird smell in your kitchen? Let me guess, it was from the fridge. I’ve told you, food can still spoil even in the fridge. It doesn’t preserve food indefinitely,” Owen said with an exasperated shake of his head.

“Agree to disagree, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I figured out why I’ve had such shit luck with women since I moved to London,” Jamie explained as she caught the bartender’s eye and gestured to have another of whatever Owen had ordered for himself.

“Would it have anything to do with the way you ignore women and keep to yourself like you’re trying to win the title of ‘grumpiest hermit in London’?”

“I don’t know why I even give you a chance to guess, you’re always shit at it,” Jamie muttered as she glanced over at her friend. “And no. It’s the women that are the problem. English women specifically. They’re all so classist. They hear my accent and immediately assume I’m some broke delinquent from coal country.”

Jamie saw Owen up his mouth, but this time continued before he had a chance to comment. “And yes, I know that’s technically true. I wouldn’t mind the assumption if they’d still give me a chance.”

“You mean a shag,” Owen corrected.

“It’s English women that are the problem,” Jamie concluded, ignoring Owen’s interruption. “So, I’m going to America.”

“America?” Owen’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why? What’s in America?”

“Well, American women for starters,” Jamie replied with a smirk, “They’re going to be falling over themselves when they hear my cute British accent.”

Owen snorted, “What cute British accent?”

“Oi!” Jamie scowled as she poked him in the ribs. “They’ll think it’s cute.”

The bartender dropped off Jamie’s pint and Owen lifted his own glass to take a sip as he reflected on what she’d said. “Well, I think this might be the worst idea you’ve ever had. And that’s saying something.”

“You’re wrong, mate,” Jamie said as she shot him a confident grin, “Just wait. You’ll see.”

* * *

Jamie had only been in the US for a total of three hours and she was already noticing some serious flaws in her “brilliant” plan.

First, she had immediately realized why the plane ticket to Des Moines, Iowa was so much cheaper than tickets to New York, LA, or San Francisco. It was significantly less glamorous than Jamie had pictured and bloody cold too. It had started snowing nearly as soon as the plane touched down and the snow was now piling up on the streets and sidewalks.

The second problem was that she hadn’t considered that certain parts of the country may be a little less…tolerant of gay people. After her third dirty look and the second ‘dyke’ muttered under someone’s breath, she finally found someone who gave her the name of a gay bar. She’d been a little worried she’d ended up a city without such a venue and was only too happy to be proven wrong.

With renewed confidence in her plan despite some initial missteps, she flagged down a cab and headed towards the bar.

As she arrived outside of the small, nondescript brick building, she was about to discover the third flaw in her plan. She eagerly walked into the bar only to find it nearly empty. Apparently, a Tuesday afternoon a few days before Christmas was not a popular time for the gay people of Des Moines to head out for a drink.

Her eyes scanned the interior, noticing a majority of the other patrons were men. Her gaze paused at the bar. There was a woman sitting alone. A rather attractive woman at that.

A smirk formed on Jamie’s face. Although she hoped for better odds in case she struck out, all she needed was to impress one woman in order to get laid. She just better not screw it up.

She wandered over to an empty barstool two down from the woman, not wanting to seem creepy by sitting right next to her when they were the only two people seated at the bar.

“What can I get you?” The bartender, a friendly-looking man in his mid-40’s, asked with a cautious smile. She wasn’t surprised to see his hesitation as she was sure a new face in a gay bar, especially in a conservative state, was always cause for mild concern.

“I’ll take a lager,” Jamie said with a smile, hoping to reassure the bartender she wasn’t here to cause any trouble.

“Bud, Coors, or Miller Light?”

“Uh…Coors,” Jamie picked an option at random, not knowing much about American beers.

The bartender nodded and walked away to get her beer. Before Jamie could figure out her best strategy for flirting with the woman beside her, a loud voice with a thick midwestern accent spoke up beside her.

“Oh my god, are you from England?”

A smirk quirked up the corner of Jamie’s mouth as she glanced over at the excited redhead beside her. “Yeah. You could tell, huh?”

The woman giggled at the reply. “I love your accent! What’re you doing in Iowa?”

Jamie gave a small shrug, only sparing a brief glance and nod over at the bartender as he set her glass in front of her. “I’ve heard good things about America. Wanted to come and check it out for myself.”

The woman giggled again as she twirled a hand of long red hair around her finger. “I’m Amanda.”

“Jamie,” she introduced herself as she took a sip of her beer and tried not to make a face at the bland taste that washed over her taste buds.

“So, are you from London?” Amanda asked as she shifted closer to Jamie.

Jamie resisted the urge to laugh, amused that anyone would guess she was from London with an accent like hers. “I live there, yeah.” She said with a nod, “But I was born and raised in the north of England.”

“The north, wow,” Amanda said as she nodded with wide eyes. “Is that, like, Scotland?”

Jamie cocked her head to the side and tried to keep her expression neutral to avoid offending her new friend. “Uh, Scotland is to the north of England, yeah…” she replied slowly, figuring it was best not to offend the woman she hoped to have under her by the end of the night. “But, uh, that’s not quite where I’m from.”

“Well, I just love British accents,” Amanda replied with a grin.

Jamie couldn’t believe how unbelievably well things were going and she hoped she wouldn’t find a way to mess things up before she got the chance to go home with Amanda.

The door opened, sending a blast of cold air racing through the nearly empty club. Jamie wasn’t even planning on glancing over until Amanda straightened up with an excited grin.

“Pauline, over here!”

Jamie glanced over her shoulder and her eyebrows lifted in surprise as she caught sight of a beautiful brunette who was making her way towards them.

Amanda briefly embraced the new arrival before ushering her into the empty seat that was between her and Jamie.

“Pauline, this is Jamie,” Amanda introduced, eager smile still fixed on her face.

“Hey,” Jamie greeted the pretty brunette with a friendly smile, although she was starting to worry the two women before her were together. Then again, if they were open to welcoming someone else into their bedroom, that didn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing…

“She’s English,” Amanda continued, her smile growing as she leaned closer.

“Really?” Pauline’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Say something English.”

Jamie ignored the temptation to point out that everything she was saying was English given that it was the same language. She knew she had to resist the urge to be her usual snarky self if she wanted to make sure she ended up in bed with at least one of these Americans. “If I’d known the women in America were so bloody fit I’d have come here ages ago on holiday.”

“Oh my god,” Pauline replied with wide eyes before both she and Amanda dissolved into giggles. “Wow, your accent is so cute!”

“Thank you for saying we’re fit,” Amanda added in, leaning over Pauline in order to be just as close to Jamie. “Honestly, I don’t even really work out.”

“Fit means hot,” Jamie pointed out as she caught the difference in meaning between the two countries.

The two women laughed again and Pauline rested her hand on Jamie’s arm, “You’re so sweet! I always knew English girls would be super adorable and charming.”

Jamie grinned, it was certainly the first time she’d ever been called sweet, adorable, or charming. She must be doing something right. “So are you two together, then?” She asked as she glanced between Pauline and Amanda.

“Us? No,” Amanda said with a grin as Pauline shook her head. “We’re just friends. Roommates, actually.”

“You don’t say?” Jamie asked, unable to believe her luck. She wondered what the chances were that these two roommates would mind her trying to get with both of them during her stay in the US.

“Where in England are you from?” Pauline asked as her hand trailed gently up and down Jamie’s arm.

“The north,” Amanda jumped in with a pleased smile, apparently very proud of herself for remembering that vague answer from earlier.

“The north…like Ireland?”

Jamie briefly wondered if the collective IQ of the two women in front of her added up to equal her own. She quickly dismissed the thought, knowing it was rude. Besides, she wasn’t interested in the women for their intelligence anyway.

“Uh no. Ireland’s not even part of the UK. Though, Northern Ireland is and maybe that’s what you were thinking of…” She again searched for some way to validate the woman’s comment and keep her from feeling as dumb as Jamie considered her to be.

“So you’re from Northern Ireland?” Amanda asked.

Jamie took a long sip of her beer as she summoned the will to answer and continue this idiotic conversation, “Not quite. I’m from England, just the northern part. Not London.”

The two women still looked confused but Pauline was the first to recover from her confusion as she glanced over at Amanda with a grin, “You know who would love her? Dani.”

“Dani would love her!” Amanda agreed with wide, excited eyes that she turned toward Jamie. “I bet Dani would totally know where the north of England is.”

“Who’s Danny?” Jamie asked, a nervous edge to her question. Up until this point, she’d assumed the two women were gay, or at least interested in women, given that they were in a gay bar. However, now she was worried that she’d ended up in the wrong bar and was about to be set up with some bloke who she had no interest in getting to know.

“Dani’s so smart, she’s a teacher,” Pauline explained, “She’s our third roommate.”

“Oh, a third roommate?” Jamie had to admit she liked the sound of that. She was also incredibly relieved that Dani was, in fact, female. She couldn’t help but think that she was more than happy with the two easy-to-impress women in front of her. She was worried someone who was described as ‘smart’, even relative to these two, might not be as easily wooed. Hell, all Jamie had done so far was string a couple of sentences together and she had these two hanging on her every word.

“Yeah, you’re gonna love her,” Amanda enthused. “Everyone does. She’s the ‘hot one’,” she added with a self-deprecating smile.

“Really?” Jamie asked, her eyebrows raising in shock. The two women in front of her were more beautiful than most of the women she’d seen in the gay bars and clubs in London. She was already stunned by her luck and couldn’t imagine anyone more attractive. Then again, this Dani may be the smart and hot one, but she could also be the straight one.

“Does she ever come here?” Jamie asked curiously, hoping the question was subtle enough to not give away just how interested she was in seeing this Dani for herself.

“Dani doesn’t come here that often. Almost never during the week,” Pauline explained. “She doesn’t like to drink too much during the week because of her job.”

“She’s the responsible one too,” Amanda added with a chuckle.

Jamie tried to hide her disappointment. Then again, all signs seemed to point to Dani being harder to impress and possibly not even interested in women. So she was better off with these two. “Well that’s too bad, but I can’t be too upset. I’m really enjoying chatting with the two of you.”

“Let us get you another drink,” Pauline said as she smirked at Amanda before fixing Jamie with a seductive smile.

Jamie felt powerless to resist and spent the next hour and a half drinking with the two women, entertaining them merely by saying common words in her accent and slipping in the occasional British slang word, which had them giggling in delight.

As she finished her third beer, she wondered how much longer she should wait before trying to score an invite back to their flat to hook up with one of them. Or both of them if she was really lucky. It wasn’t that late in the day, but she found herself more than eager to get to the activities she’d come to America for.

“So Jamie, where are you staying?” Pauline asked as she leaned closer to the English woman.

“Uh, good question,” Jamie replied with a chuckle, “I hadn’t figured that part out yet. I just got here today. I’ll probably get a hotel room, or more likely, a motel room with my budget.”

“Oh my god, no. The motels around here are so gross,” Amanda interjected before sharing a look with Pauline. When she looked back at Jamie, a smile was playing on her lips. “You should totally stay with us while you’re in town.”

“Really?” Jamie asked, her eyes widening in surprise. Sure, she’d been hoping to get an invitation to their place, but she didn’t expect it to be quite so easy.

“Definitely,” Pauline confirmed with a nod, “You have to stay with us. We have a nice couch in the living room…or you could always share a bed with one of us…”

“Or both of us,” Amanda added, causing both women to break into giggles.

Jamie’s shocked expression remained firmly in place. She couldn’t believe her luck. There was no way it could be this easy, could it?

She decided not to question it. After all, she’d heard great things about America. Maybe she’d just never put as much stock in the stories as she should. ‘Land of opportunity’ indeed.

And if things really were too good to be true…well, she just hoped she at least got laid before they harvested her organs and sold them on the black market. It was a risk she was willing to take.

“If you’re sure it’s alright with you, that would be brilliant!”

The two American women cheered excitedly as Jamie accepted their offer. From there, things seemed to happen quickly as they closed out their tabs and ushered her out of the bar. Jamie definitely wasn’t complaining as they led her down the street towards their flat. As they excitedly babbled during the walk, Jamie learned that the three roommates had decided to move in together after less than desirable reactions from their families when they came out.

The part of that story Jamie found most interesting was that it confirmed that this mysterious third roommate was also gay. The hot one, the smart one, the responsible one. She tried to tamp down her excitement. She already had two women who seemed very interested, she didn’t need to complicate that by being greedy and going after a third. That might be the overreaching step that caused her good fortune to come crumbling down around her like a house of cards.

Two women were enough. More than enough, even. Given Jamie’s bout of bad luck in England and subsequent dry spell, she was just hoping she’d be able to keep up with the two eager women tugging her up the stairs toward their flat.

“We’re here,” Pauline whispered suggestively into Jamie’s ear while Amanda struggled to unlock the door to let them in.

Jamie grinned as she was dragged in through the front door. “Nice flat you got here,” she commented as she glanced around the small, but cozy space.

“Oh my god, she calls an apartment a ‘flat’, so cute!” Amanda said to Pauline with a grin.

“Dani, we’re home,” Pauline called out, “And we brought a friend!”

“Oh yeah? Is it a friend I know?” Dani’s voice drifted in from another room.

Jamie smiled as yet another cute midwestern accent joined the mix and she found herself impatiently waiting to get a glimpse of this third roommate.

“Not yet,” Amanda replied gleefully, “But I think you’re going to love her.”

“Or at least we hope you do…we invited her to stay here while she’s in town. Hope that’s okay!” Pauline added as she began removing her winter gear.

Jamie followed the lead of the other two women as she set her bag down and began removing her coat.

“You invited her to stay with us?” Dani’s voice asked, her tone giving away her incredulity. The steadily increasing volume indicated that the third roommate was rapidly approaching the living room.

Jamie sucked in a breath. Just as she’d expected, the ‘smart’ and ‘responsible’ one seemed like she wasn’t going to be as easily impressed.

“She was going to stay in a motel!” Amanda protested.

“She’s from _England_ ,” Pauline added with a smirk.

Finally, the third roommate came into view and Jamie’s breath caught in her throat as she looked at the stunning blonde who looked more than a little irritated. However, as soon as Dani’s eyes landed on her, her frustrated expression was replaced by one of stunned silence.

“Hi,” Dani finally greeted as she stared wide-eyed at Jamie.

“Hey there,” Jamie replied, a smile returning to her face at Dani’s speechless reaction. “Sorry, I know this must be a bit unexpected. I don’t mind staying in a motel if it’s a problem.”

Amanda and Pauline turned panicked faces towards Dani who quickly shook her head, “No…no that’s okay. I was just…surprised.” She explained as she gave Jamie a shy smile, “So you’re from England.”

“She’s from the north,” Amanda corrected, still appearing very proud of herself for remembering this vague detail.

“Oh, like Manchester? Or further up near Newcastle?” Dani asked as she looked at Jamie, her expression intrigued.

Jamie could see why she was the smart one. “Small town about an hour outside of Manchester,” she explained, “Kinda impressed you’ve heard of both Manchester and Newcastle.”

“Pauline thought the north of England meant Ireland,” Amanda explained with a smirk as she threw her friend under the bus.

Jamie chuckled at Pauline’s frustrated gasp. “To be fair, love, you thought I meant Scotland.”

Amanda didn’t look embarrassed in the least. In fact, she merely grinned happily at Jamie. If she had to guess, Jamie figured the Americans weren’t used to ‘love’ being used so casually.

“So, what’s your name?” Dani asked as she moved closer to the group still standing near the entryway.

Jamie could have been mistaken, but she saw a look similar to jealousy flash across Dani’s face as she looked at Amanda. She really would have to keep this ‘love’ thing in mind and use it wisely.

“Jamie,” she introduced herself as she held out a hand.

“I’m Dani,” the blonde returned the introduction as she shook Jamie’s hand.

Jamie smiled at the feel of the soft hand warming her own, which was quite cold from being outside in the snowy Iowa evening.

“Oh wow, you’re freezing,” Dani commented as she stepped closer and raised a hand to feel Jamie’s cheek.

Jamie’s eyebrows shot up, stunned by the lack of respect for personal space - not that she was complaining. Not in the least. She’d been slowly getting used to it over the last several hours as Amanda and Pauline had found nearly any excuse to touch her or get close to her. She found she liked it even more when it was Dani who was getting entirely too close.

“We should get you warmed up,” Dani continued as she raised her left hand to Jamie’s other chilled cheek, causing a fire to ignite beneath her fingertips and quickly spread throughout Jamie’s entire body.

“I have some ideas on how to do that…” Pauline offered with a smirk.

“Come on, she just walked in the door,” Dani scolded her roommate.

Jamie wanted to say she really didn’t mind hearing more about what Pauline was suggesting. However, words were escaping her since Dani was still cupping her face with her warm, soft, delicate hands.

“I have some cozy pajamas you can borrow if you want to get warm,” Dani offered and Jamie mutely nodded to accept the offer. She likely would have agreed to anything Dani suggested while she was looking at her with those gorgeous blue eyes.

“Come with me,” Dani said as she dropped her hands and stepped away before glancing at the bag resting near Jamie’s feet. “Oh, you can bring that too.”

“But I was thinking Jamie could stay with me in my room,” Amanda quickly interjected.

“Or she’s more than welcome to stay with me,” Pauline cut in as she shot Jamie a wink.

Jamie glanced between Pauline and Amanda, not expecting them to both to be so willing to offer up their rooms, and beds, to her.

“I have the biggest room, there’s more space,” Dani rationalized.

“But your bed is the same size, so that doesn’t even make sense,” Pauline shot back.

“We should let Jamie decide who she wants to sleep with,” Amanda offered.

“Share a bed with,” Dani corrected with a nervous chuckle.

“Well, I sure as hell mean sleep with,” Pauline said as she looked at Dani. “So if you’re not offering the same thing, you should probably let our guest now so she can make an informed decision.”

Jamie was startled as three pairs of eyes turned to her as they awaited her decision. He mouth ran dry as she realized the position she was in – not one, not two, but _three_ gorgeous women were vying to be the one to get to take her to their bed, in more ways than one. She was even more surprised that not a one had spoken up after Pauline’s comment to clarify they were only offering a place to sleep and nothing more.

Her gaze caught on Dani, who was still blushing after Pauline’s comment – or perhaps flushing due to her own silent admission that she was definitely willing to sleep with Jamie, a woman she’d only met a few minutes ago. Jamie couldn’t deny that out of all three women, Dani was the one whom she found truly captivating. She was also the one she knew the least about…but she was hoping to change that.

Realizing the three Americans were still waiting for an answer, Jamie swallowed and glanced at their expectant faces. “I think I’m gonna stay with Dani…bigger room and all,” she threw in the last part to try and ease the others’ disappointment. After all, she wasn’t looking to burn any bridges if she was really going to be staying here for the duration of her trip.

Amanda and Pauline had matching disappointed pouts, but neither seemed exactly surprised by the decision.

“My room is this way,” Dani said with a joyful smile as she took Jamie’s hand.

Jamie quickly grabbed her bag with her free hand and followed the gorgeous blonde down the hall. She wasn’t sure if she’d just ruined her chance at hooking up with Pauline and Amanda; perhaps a more diplomatic option like taking the couch would have been the way to go. However, as her gaze drifted over Dani while she was being led down the hall, she found she wasn’t regretting her choice at all.

Jamie just hoped if this was all a scheme to steal her organs, she’d at least have the chance to have sex with Dani first. That might make the trip worth an untimely death.

And if by some stroke of pure goddamn luck this whole thing wasn’t too good to be true…well, she couldn’t wait to rub it in Owen’s face the second she got back to England. _If_ she went back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! The second chapter/pairing should be up later today.


	2. Daniel, Sam, and Joanna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this one turned more into a character study of Dennis Taylor and his relationship with his daughter. Whoops. 
> 
> But I guess that's true to the movie? Anyway, I still like it and it features 10-year-old Dani and Jamie cuteness and fluff. So hopefully you all will like it too.

England - December 1997

The timid, yet insistent knock on her door alerted Jamie to the fact that her father wanted to talk to her. He was the only one who knocked like that. Denny would bang on the door just to be annoying, sometimes with both fists. And Mikey would barge in, still too young to realize it was polite to knock first if the door was closed. Dennis Taylor was the only one whose knock could be considered polite, but only because he was a single father who was constantly at a loss for how to interact with his only daughter.

“Come in,” Jamie called from where she was laying sideways on her bed, her head hanging over the edge and her legs propped up on the wall.

“Everything alright?” Dennis asked as he stepped cautiously into the room, as if unsure what he expected to find when he opened the door.

“Just splendid,” Jamie muttered drily.

“That’s enough with the sass,” Dennis scolded as he walked over to the boombox and turned the volume down. “Are you going to tell me why you’ve taken it upon yourself to be the personal DJ for us and all our neighbors for the past week?”

“It’s not that loud,” Jamie grumbled.

“Ralph from next door complimented me on introducing you to The Doors at such a young age. I would have taken the compliment proudly if you weren’t just playing ‘The End’ on repeat. That song has a lyric about wanting to kill your father, you know. Not sure how to take that,” Dennis teased.

“I don’t want to kill you,” Jamie muttered, still in no mood for conversation because of how miserable she felt.

“Good to know,” Dennis said before rubbing his neck, something he always did when he was nervous or about to say something he knew his kids wouldn’t like. “You know I’m gonna have to take that cassette from you, right?”

“What, why?” Jamie asked as she finally shifted so she could sit up properly on her bed and glare at her father.

“Well, the song isn’t exactly appropriate. There are adult themes in the lyrics and they say the word ‘fuck’ more times that I count,” Dennis explained as he ejected the tape and pocketed it. “Not exactly the most appropriate music for my ten-year-old daughter to be listening to.”

Jamie sighed and flopped back on her bed dramatically. “Whatever.”

“You want to tell me what has you moping around?” Dennis asked, his hesitant tone indicating that he wasn’t really comfortable asking, but knew it was the type of thing a parent should do.

“No,” Jamie replied.

There was a long silence before Jamie finally glanced over to look at her father, wondering how long he was just going to stand there.

“Is it…I mean, did you…get your period?” Dennis asked, his face bright red as he looked beyond uncomfortable to even be asking about menstruation.

“What? Ew no!” Jamie exclaimed as she quickly sat up again, “We only learned about that in school last month!” She knew from the talk they’d been given in health class that it could technically happen at the age she was now, but wasn’t likely to happen for another couple of years. She hoped it wouldn’t happen for a very long time.

Dennis nodded rapidly and seemed relieved that wasn’t the issue currently plaguing his daughter. “Alright, good…well, uh, if it’s not that, what is it?”

“I honestly wish it were that,” Jamie said as she let out a heavy sigh. “It’s worse.”

“Worse?” Dennis asked, his brows knitting together as he gave his daughter a concerned look. “Jamie, what’s going on?”

Jamie huffed out another sigh as she leaned against her pillows. “Unfortunately, I’m in love.”

There was a drawn out pause before Dennis chuckled and Jamie whipped her head around to glare at him.

“I’m sorry,” he held his hands up defensively, “I just wasn’t expecting that. I was prepared to hear something a lot worse.”

“Worse than the total agony of being in love?” Jamie questioned incredulously.

Dennis took a moment to mull over her words and then nodded, “I suppose you’re right.” He took a step back to lean against her desk. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

Jamie frowned as she considered the question. She wasn’t exactly keen on the idea, but all her other attempts to drown out her misery hadn’t been helping either. “Her name is Dani.”

“Her?” Dennis questioned, prompting his daughter to glance over and glare at him again for interrupting. “Sorry, just a bit surprised.”

“As I was saying,” Jamie continued, “Her name is Dani. She’s the most popular girl in school. Everyone loves her.”

“Including you,” Dennis teased with a playful smile once he recovered from the discovery his daughter had a crush on a girl.

“Are you going to keep making jokes? Because if so, I’m done sharing.”

“No, I’m sorry. Please continue.”

Jamie let out another long, dramatic sigh. “She’s pretty and smart and nice. She’s perfect. And she has absolutely no idea that I exist.”

Dennis let out a contemplative hum as he slowly crossed the room and perched on the edge of the bed. “Looks like we’re gonna have to do something about that, yeah? Make sure she knows exactly who Jamie Taylor is and what she’s been missing out on by not getting to know ya.”

Jamie lifted her head from her pillow so she could meet her father’s gaze. “And how exactly are we going to do that?”

Now it was Dennis’s turn to let out a sigh, only his was overly drawn out and exasperated as if he felt put upon by Jamie even asking. “Well now, I can’t figure everything out for ya, now can I? Looks like you’ll just have to go to school, find out what she likes, and we’ll come up with a plan to make sure she notices you.”

For the first time in over a week, a small smile appeared on Jamie’s face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Dennis confirmed as he reached over to affectionately ruffle his daughter’s hair. “Now ease up on the moping, would ya? Or at least listen to some age-appropriate music at a more reasonable volume.”

Jamie rolled her eyes as she collapsed back on her pillows. Only now she felt something new blossoming in her chest – something that felt an awful lot like hope.

* * *

“Dad! I have a plan, I have a plan!”

Dennis looked up from his newspaper as his daughter came barreling into the room, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

“Plan for what?” He asked as he folded his newspaper and set it aside.

Jamie rolled her eyes, as if annoyed he had to ask. “A plan to get Dani to notice me.”

“Oh right,” he nodded as he caught on the cause of his daughter’s uncharacteristic enthusiasm. “Let’s hear it then.”

“You know how the Christmas pageant at school is coming up,” Jamie began and waited for his nod before continuing, “This year Dani’s going to be singing with the chorus,” she paused and then corrected herself with a gleeful grin, “She has the solo, the rest of the chorus is just doing the backing vocals.”

“Good for her,” Dennis said with a nod, “And just how do you fit into all of this? Last I checked, you weren’t in chorus.”

“Well, they need a band to play with the chorus, which means the band members get to rehearse every day after school with _Dani_.”

Dennis couldn’t help but grin at the lovestruck look in his young daughter’s eyes. “You’re gonna have to help me out, hun. Still not sure where you come in.”

“I signed up to play the drums!” Jamie exclaimed, her smile infectious.

Dennis nodded slowly, “But Jamie, love, you don’t-”

“Play drums?” Jamie finished. “No, but Denny does.”

Dennis couldn’t help but feel increasingly lost the longer this conversation went on. “Unless you want your big brother swooping in to steal your girl, I don’t see how that helps.”

“She’s not _my_ girl,” Jamie corrected, although the blush spreading across her cheeks and her shy smile indicated that she would very much like that to be the case. “And it does help – because Denny can teach me how to play the song!”

“Right…” Dennis said as he looked at his daughter, waiting for her to come to the same realization he had about the situation. However, her eager smile never wavered as she remained confident in her plan. “And have you asked Denny if he’d be willing to teach you?” Dennis knew that his twelve-year-old son was already as stubborn as any teenager he had ever met. He was certain he knew how this conversation would play out and he knew if Jamie stopped to consider it for a moment, she would realize it too.

“Nope, but if he says no, you can just make him teach me,” she insisted. “It’s important, Dad. It’s to impress the girl I love.”

Dennis couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. He hadn’t seen his daughter this happy and excited in a long time, if ever. Certainly not since Louise walked out four years ago. “I don’t know if I can make him do anything…but we can go talk to him.” He agreed.

Jamie’s grin nearly doubled in size before she rushed off to find her brother.

A chuckle escaped Dennis as he pushed himself out of his recliner and began to follow, although at a much more reasonable pace.

“No,” Denny’s voice drifted down the hall.

“Come on, you hardly even play them! I’m just asking you to teach me one song!”

“And I said no,” Denny repeated.

Dennis rounded the corner to see his son leaning against the doorjamb to his room, arms crossed, while his daughter stood in front of him, expression pleading as she stood up as tall as she could, trying to match her brother’s height.

“It’s important, Denny. You have to help me!” Jamie insisted before turning to glance at her father as he approached. “Dad, tell him!”

Dennis smiled as his son, “It would be really nice of you to help your sister out, Den. Get in the Christmas spirit and all that.”

“What’s in it for me?” Denny asked.

“Being a good brother,” Dennis cut in before his son could try to extort his younger sister out of the little bit of allowance she had saved. He knew with how desperate Jamie was to charm this girl at school, she would likely hand over her money and all of her prized possessions for this one favor.

“Lame,” Denny scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s really, really important,” Jamie insisted again with wide eyes. “Please, Denny. If you don’t, I’m to look like a complete and utter knob in front of the whole school!”

“Language,” Dennis scolded his daughter while Denny merely laughed at the idea.

“I’m sure you don’t need my help – or lack of help – to do that,” Denny teased, “But why’s it so important anyhow?”

“It’s for true love!” Jamie explained impatiently.

“She’s trying to impress someone at school,” Dennis explained, knowing they were going to be here much longer if Jamie kept giving partial explanations, “She wants to play the drums in the Christmas performance.”

“Wow, you’re definitely going to look like a knob,” Denny teased. “Who are you trying to impress anyway?”

“Dani Clayton,” Jamie admitted, her smile only growing as she thought about her crush. “She got the solo for the performance.”

“Are you serious?” Denny asked as he raised his eyebrows.

Dennis felt his shoulders tense as he prepared for his son to start teasing Jamie for having a crush on a girl. He could envision the ensuing argument now and was ready to step in before a fistfight broke out.

“She’s the most popular girl in your grade! Even I know who she is and I don’t even go to your school.” Denny protested.

Dennis’s eyebrows raised in surprise – he had not been expecting that to be his son’s reaction to the news. After his surprise faded, he began to wonder if he should be concerned that this Dani girl was known even to kids at the secondary school. However, it was a very small town and he hoped that was the reason why everyone seemed to know her and it had nothing to do with her reputation.

“Duh, I know that!” Jamie shot back, “She’s pretty and cool and nice and funny and perfect! Obviously she’s popular!”

“What makes you think you have a shot with her?” Denny asked with a smirk.

“I don’t!” Jamie replied with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “But maybe if I play the drums and she gets to know me…I don’t know, maybe she’ll think I’m cool too.” The last part was mumbled quietly; so quietly Dennis almost didn’t catch it.

Denny heard it though and his posture shifted as he dropped his arms from the defensive pose he’d been maintaining. “Alright, fine. I’ll teach you how to play the stupid song.”

* * *

Dennis steeled his nerves as he approached his house. It had been nearly two weeks of Denny giving Jamie drum lessons and he was nearly at the end of his rope. Although he was grateful for how patient Denny had been with Jamie and how surprisingly few fights he’d had to referee between them, the sound of poorly played drums echoing through the house for hours on end was growing old. He was already mentally counting down the days to the Christmas pageant when all of this would be over.

However, as he opened the door and walked into the living room, he was met with blissful silence. His joy was quickly dampened by the sight of a moody child moping on the couch.

“Jamie…” he greeted as he wandered into the room, “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you practicing?”

“There’s no point,” his daughter grumbled.

Dennis sighed as he took a seat in his recliner, “I know it’s tough, but it just takes practice. You’ll get there eventually.” He couldn’t believe he was actively encouraging her to keep playing when this was the first time in weeks he’d been able to walk into his house without his ears being assaulted by pure noise; not even music, just loud noise.

“It’s not that,” Jamie said with an exasperated huff. “I found out that Dani’s moving back to America.”

“She’s American?” Dennis questioned, this being the first he had heard of it.

Jamie gave him a silent look, but the ‘duh’ was heavily implied. “She’s going back for the holidays and they’re not coming back.”

Dennis wasn’t sure exactly what to say to console a miserable ten-year-old who was convinced the love of their life was leaving forever. They sat in silence while he sorted through different possible responses, ranging from useless cliches to motivational quotes he’d heard in sports movies. None of it seemed quite right.

He glanced at his daughter who was far too young to understand the intricacies of real heartbreak, of actual love and loss that came with real-world consequences – like raising a son that wasn’t biologically yours and loving him as your own or taking care of three kids when their mother walks out even though you haven’t the slightest clue what you’re doing most days.

With a sigh, Dennis stood up and went to sit on the coffee table, facing his daughter who was leaning heavily against the couch cushions in defeat.

“Do you love her?” He asked, trying to get back some spark of the excitement he’d seen in her eyes over the last few weeks.

Jamie nodded miserably, looking like she wished for all the world that she didn’t.

“Then why are you giving up? Are you really going to throw the towel in before you’ve given it a shot and told her how you feel?”

Jamie eyed her dad curiously as she pushed away from the back of the couch and leaned forward. “What’s the point? She’s going back to America. There will be an entire ocean between us and we both know I’m not a strong swimmer.”

Dennis chuckled at his daughter’s joke. “What will you regret more – giving it a go and have it not work out the way you’d hoped? Or not saying anything and watching her leave without ever knowing how much you like her – love her.” He corrected himself at the end before his daughter could get upset with him for downplaying her crush.

Jamie quietly considered what he said for a long moment before she nodded. “You’re right. I’ve got to at least let her know before she leaves and I never see her again.”

Dennis smiled, “Alright. Back to it then?”

Jamie nodded, her smile returning before she eagerly rushed off, shouting for her brother.

Dennis’s own smile faded as his daughter ran out of the room. Although he was relieved the crisis was averted for now, he couldn’t help but worry that in a couple weeks’ time, the pageant would be over, Jamie’s crush would be on her way to another country, and his daughter would be even more sullen than before. He only hoped that this Dani girl would be nice when his daughter confessed her feelings and wouldn’t ridicule her or insult her for liking another girl.

He tiredly ran a hand through his hair – at least he had two weeks to prepare for whatever disaster might await them after the pageant.

* * *

To say she was nervous was an understatement. Jamie Taylor was absolutely terrified. Not only was she about to perform on stage in front of the whole school, something she swore she would never willingly do, but after that she was planning on telling the most incredible girl in the world that she was head over heels in love with her.

“Alright everyone, the nativity play just ended, you’re up next,” the music teacher whispered to all the students backstage.

Jamie nodded and forced a smile as she tightly gripped her drumsticks in her hand. It was now or never. She had to get through this and do a good job if she had any hope of impressing Dani.

As if on cue, Dani walked over from where she’d been getting ready in the girls dressing room. The purple dress she was wearing had more sparkles than Jamie had ever seen on a single garment. It was bold and attention-getting and on any other person, Jamie would sneer and think it over-the-top and girly and ridiculous. But on Dani…well, she looked absolutely beautiful.

“Good luck,” Jamie whispered, feeling nervous to speak directly to Dani when she’d only ever done it a handful of times before.

“That’s bad luck, you’re supposed to say break a leg,” a girl named Viola pointed out rudely from where she was standing behind Jamie, waiting to go on with the rest of the students in chorus.

“Isn’t that just for actors?” Dani asked Viola before returning her attention to Jamie, “Either way, I don’t buy into that superstitious stuff. So thank you.”

Jamie nodded, although her cheeks were still flushed with embarrassment from when Viola had corrected her. Figures she’d mess up something as simple as wishing her luck.

And then it was show time. Jamie quickly took her place seated behind the drum set. She slowly drew in a few deep breaths as everyone else took their positions on stage. She could do this; she was ready. Even Denny had been very complimentary of her the last few days of practice and had told her she was going to do great.

She glanced out into the crowd, her gaze sweeping over the audience until she found her dad seated between Mikey and Denny. Dennis caught her eye and smiled before gesturing towards Dani and mouthing ‘that her?’

Jamie fought off another blush as she bit her lower lip to hold in her smile and gave a quick nod. The lights began to dim, leaving a spotlight on Dani as well as a couple other stage lights. Jamie took one final deep breath and then the song began.

Although Jamie tried to stay focused on her drumming since she was nowhere near good enough to play without intense concentration on what she was doing, she found her attention drifting up to watch Dani as she sang ‘All I Want for Christmas’. Jamie hadn’t cared much for the pop song when it came out a few years ago, but recently it had become her absolute favorite Christmas song. And it had everything to do with the blonde angel singing it right before her eyes.

Surprisingly, she managed to stay on the beat and follow along, playing exactly as Denny had taught her. The only time she nearly slipped up was during the final chorus when Dani had turned, looked her right in the goddamn eye, and sang that all she wanted for Christmas was her. Jamie thought she was about to be the youngest person to ever have a heart attack, only to be quickly slammed back down to reality as Dani finished the final repetitions of the lyrics while pointing to various other people on stage and in the audience. So much for only wanting one person for Christmas then.

The song ended. Dani took her bow. The music teacher made a final announcement to the crowd, wishing everyone happy holidays. And it was over. Students began rushing off stage, eager to find their parents in the crowd. Jamie stayed seated behind the drum set as she let it sink in that weeks of practicing had all led up to this one moment and she’d nailed it – but it was over.

The pageant was done, which meant Dani would be going back to America for Christmas, never to return again. The thought brought tears to Jamie’s eyes and she blinked rapidly as she stood up. It couldn’t be over – she hadn’t even told her she loved her yet.

Jamie hurried off stage, not entirely sure where she was going. As she began to take off through the hallway behind the auditorium, she was stopped by her father.

“Hey, Jamie,” he called out to get her attention as she was set to just keep moving right past him. “You did a fantastic job, love.”

“Yeah, surprisingly you didn’t completely fuck it up,” Denny teased.

“Watch your mouth,” Dennis scolded as he swatted at his son.

“Dad, I have to go, she’s leaving!” A panicked Jamie insisted before running towards the exit. She wasn’t sure where Dani had gone, but the auditorium exit would at least lead to the parking lot where she could try to find her.

She burst through the double doors and out into the cold December night. Her wide eyes frantically searched around. And then finally, miraculously, she caught a glimpse of purple sparkles disappearing into a car. Before she could even open her mouth to call out the other girl’s name, the door was shut and the car was already pulling away from the curb.

Dennis finally reached his daughter and knelt down beside her, Denny and Mikey trailing behind, in less of a rush to catch up.

“She’s gone,” she whispered numbly as she watched the sedan driving away.

Dennis sighed as he watched his young daughter’s face start to crumple, the telltale sign that tears would soon follow. “Maybe we can find out where she lives, stop by her house on the way home? Or tomorrow morning, perhaps?”

“You don’t get it!” Jamie insisted, “There is no tonight or tomorrow! They’re going to the airport right now! They were supposed to fly out yesterday but changed their stupid flight so Dani could be in the show tonight!”

“Oh,” Dennis murmured before shaking his head. “Well, uh, that’s really unfortunate, hun. I’m sorry.” Mikey and Denny finally caught up, but Jamie didn’t even spare them a glance.

“I didn’t get to tell her,” Jamie mumbled as her face fell again. “All of that work and I didn’t even tell her that I love her. Now she’ll never know. And I’ll never, ever fall in love again. How could anyone compare to her?” She thrusted a hand in the direction the car had left.

Dennis pulled his daughter into a hug. Jamie was surprised since her dad wasn’t big on hugging or showing his kids affection in general. However, her surprise quickly gave way to sadness as her barely suppressed tears finally caught up to her.

“Why can’t Jamie tell her?” Mikey asked, his five-year-old naivety shining through as he glanced around at his family members.

“Because she’s about to get on a plane and go very far away,” Dennis explained quietly to his youngest son.

“She can tell her before she gets on the plane!” Mikey replied enthusiastically, “Like when we go to the airport and say goodbye to grandma.”

Jamie sniffed as she pulled back and looked at her dad with wide, hopeful, tear-filled eyes.

Dennis hesitated for a moment before he shook his head, “Fuck it, let’s go.”

The Taylor family quickly hurried to the truck. Denny didn’t even argue as he climbed in the small, cramped second row of seats and let Jamie have the passenger seat. They drove quickly to the nearest airport, which was fortunately small and not nearly as much of a nightmare as Heathrow would have been to navigate.

“We have to hurry!” Jamie insisted as Dennis began circling the parking lot for a space.

“Right, uh,” he glanced behind him and looked at Denny. “You stay with the car, yeah? If anyone tries to give us a ticket, tell them it was an emergency and I’ll be right back.”

Denny nodded and quickly climbed over into the front seat while Dennis got Mikey from the back.

“Oh and don’t do anything stupid. I come back and find you’ve moved this truck even a centimeter, you’ll be grounded until you can legally drive – in four years.”

Denny frowned but nodded before Jamie began to rush off and Dennis and Mikey turned to catch up.

They hurried in through the main doors and Dennis led them over to the screens listing the departing flights. He quickly locating the only flight heading to America at this time of night.

“Gate 3C,” he announced to his daughter as the group hurried off toward the departures gate.

“Dad, I have to go to the bathroom!” Mikey declared as he stopped in his tracks and pointed towards the men’s room.

“Alright, but now’s not a good time. Can you just hold it a few minutes?” Dennis asked patiently.

Jamie, meanwhile, had no such patience. “Dad, her plane’s gonna leave any minute!” She cried out as she tugged at his sleeve.

“I have to go now!” Mikey insisted as frustrated tears began to well up in his eyes. “I didn’t go before we left the house and it’s been forever!”

“Bloody hell,” Dennis muttered as he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Alright, Jamie you go on ahead and meet us back here as soon as you’re done, okay? No getting on any planes or walking off with anyone, you come right back here!”

Jamie could only manage a quick nod before she was off, racing through the airport, dodging people and luggage as she ran.

Eventually, she reached the gate just in time to see Dani boarding with her mom.

“Dani!” She called out frantically.

The blonde turned, her confusion and shock evident from her expression. “Jamie?”

Jamie nervously walked closer, reducing the remaining distance between them as Dani took a few steps toward Jamie and away from her mom. She couldn’t believe Dani knew her name. Yes, they’d been in the same class, but Dani was so popular, she hadn’t expected her presence to actually register with her.

“What are you doing here?” Dani asked as she cocked her head to the side.

“Well, I…” Jamie felt her throat tighten with nerves as she realized the time had come to make her declaration of love before Dani got on that plane, never to return. “I just wanted to tell you…that I think you’re the coolest girl I’ve ever met. Even though you spell words like ‘colour’ wrong and you say pants when you mean trousers, you’re still really smart. You’re nice to everyone even when they don’t deserve it. And you’re funny too. I mean, your accent is pretty funny all on its own. But when you make jokes, they’re actually good…most of the time. Better than Owen’s anyway.”

Realizing that she was getting off topic judging from the slight furrow between Dani’s brows, she pushed ahead before she lost her nerve. “I just…I think you’re the most beautiful girl in the whole world. You’re really, really cool and fun and smart and pretty and I just wanted you to know that before you go back to America.”

Jamie had been a fan of Dani’s smile for a while now, but every smile she’d ever seen cross the blonde’s face didn’t even compare to the one Dani was currently giving her. It could light up a room with how radiant it was.

“Thank you, Jamie,” Dani replied as she shyly tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

“No problem,” Jamie said with a shrug as she shoved her hands in her pockets, not knowing what else to say now that she’d bared her soul to the love of her life.

“Dani, honey, we have to board now,” the blonde woman behind Dani called out and Jamie wished she could kick the woman for ruining the moment. Although she figured Dani might not like her very much if she kicked her mother, so she resisted the urge.

“I have to go,” Dani said, her face falling at the realization.

“Yeah,” Jamie nodded as she swallowed, willing herself to keep it together and not cry in front of her crush.

“Wait, hold on,” Dani said as she hurried over to her mom and the woman behind the desk waiting patiently for them to board.

Jamie watched the exchange curiously; she was too far away to hear anything over the sounds of the busy airport around them. Dani jotted something down on a sheet of paper before walking back over to Jamie with a small smile.

“Here’s my address, you can write to me whenever you want. We can be like pen pals,” Dani said with an eager grin.

Jamie glanced at the address and then looked back up and nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, definitely.”

“And who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to come back and visit sometime. Or maybe we’ll end up at the same college someday,” Dani continued, her smile growing as she listed ways they might one day cross paths again.

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” Jamie said as she held up her hand and crossed her fingers.

Dani laughed and bit her lip, she seemed to be considering something before she quickly leaned in and pressed a kiss to Jamie’s cheek. “I think you’re pretty too,” she whispered before she pulled back, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She began to back towards where her mother was waiting, “And cool…and smart…and funny.” She repeated Jamie’s words with a grin and then waved before finally turning around and joining her mother who ushered her towards the jet bridge.

Jamie couldn’t keep the joyful smile off her face as she tightly clutched the slip of paper in her hand and watched Dani until she was out of sight. When she turned around, she saw her father and Mikey waiting for her several yards away.

She rushed over to her dad and showed him the paper, “She gave me her address so we can be pen pals!”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think someone also got a kiss,” Dennis commented as he wrapped his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and began to lead them towards the exit.

Jamie grinned and shyly ducked her head, “She said I was pretty.”

Dennis smiled as he hugged his daughter closer, “What do you think, hun. Was all of this worth it?”

“Definitely worth it,” Jamie said decisively with a sharp nod of her head. “I’m gonna marry her one day.”

Dennis chuckled, “Well, you know we’ll all be here to help you figure out how to top that sickeningly adorable display of romance when it comes time for the proposal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two down and five more to go!
> 
> If there are any lines or moments from the movie you're really hoping to see in the upcoming chapters, let me know! I can't promise it'll make it in - as I'm writing these oneshots they tend to take on a life of their own and stray quite a bit from the movie, so certain movie lines just might not fit. But feel free to let me know and I can do my best!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos, and commented on the first chapter!


	3. David and Natalie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just...I thought I could write short little oneshots. I thought I could control my brain and keep it to little snippets that parallel events from the movie.
> 
> And then I start writing and my brain keeps throwing out ideas and I end up with 9,000 words in a single chapter. But I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out and I hope you all are too.

Henry Wingrave glanced at his watch for the fifth time in less than two minutes before reluctantly turning his attention to the woman standing next to him. “It would appear your parents have been held up at the office. I suppose we could get started on the tour of the house unless you’d prefer to wait for them to arrive…”

Judging from his expression, it was clear he did not want to give this tour more than once. However, Dani was tired of waiting outside with an increasingly uncomfortable silence stretching between her and one of her father’s new colleagues.

“A tour would be great!” Dani enthused with a smile that she hoped made it seem she was completely unaware how disinclined Henry was to do so.

“Right,” he replied with a nod before turning and heading toward the large double doors.

Dani eagerly followed and glanced around at the impressive foyer. Given her father’s impressive career, she was no stranger to stately houses. Their house back in the US had been quite large and beautiful, but it didn’t compare to this place, which practically oozed history, charm, and opulence. A rare combination.

“The household staff are in here,” Henry explained as he led her into a large sitting room where four people stood in a line waiting to greet them. Dani wondered if they’d been standing in here this whole time, or if they’d only gotten up when they heard the faint creak of the heavy front door. She hoped it was the latter. She still wasn’t used to having a household staff; the thought of people waiting on her hand and foot made her very uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, she followed Henry into the room, not wanting to appear rude to the people waiting to meet her. Well, waiting to meet her parents. She was just the 25-year-old daughter who had taken advantage of her father’s new status as US Ambassador to the UK so that she could gain temporary residency in England and have the chance to explore a new country.

“The Ambassador and his wife are running late, they’ve likely been held up with official business at the office,” Henry announced to the patiently waiting staff. “This is Danielle Clayton, the Ambassador’s daughter.”

Before Dani even had a chance to offer a wave and generic greeting to the people lined up, Henry was already walking her down the line.

“This is Hannah Grose. She’s the housekeeper,” Henry explained, a polite smile on his face despite the boredom seeping into his tone.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Clayton,” Hannah said with a warm smile as she shook Dani’s outstretched hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too, uh…Hannah? Miss Grose?”

“Mrs. Grose,” Henry corrected before Hannah could answer as he continued to briskly lead Dani on to the next waiting figure.

“This is Peter Quint, he’s the driver.”

“Among other things,” Peter said with a smirk as he leaned closer and shook Dani’s hand. “I’ve also been known to run an errand or two. You need anything, you let me know,” he added with a wink that made Dani’s skin crawl.

Although Peter’s words were kind, there was something about his demeanor that made Dani feel uncomfortable. He appeared to be flirting with her, but not in a way that made it seem like he was genuinely interested in her. More likely, he was interested in her father’s position and status and wouldn’t be opposed to seducing Dani if it resulted in a career boost for him.

She wasn’t disappointed when Henry led her to the next person in line.

“Owen Sharma, he’s the cook.”

“Hi Owen,” Dani greeted as she shook his hand. With his kind eyes and genuinely warm smile, Dani hadn’t even considered calling him Mr. Sharma, he just seemed like an Owen. And she had a feeling they would be fast friends.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Clayton.”

Owen barely finished speaking before Henry was ushering her along to the last person in line.

“And this is the gardener, Jamie Taylor. She’s new here, just like you.”

“Hi Jamie, it’s nice to meet you,” Dani said as she eagerly extended her hand towards the surprisingly beautiful gardener. After years of ignoring all the jokes her mother used to make with her wealthy, elitist friends about the allure of having a handsome gardener around, Dani finally understood the appeal. She was suddenly overwhelmed by thoughts of Jamie carrying around heavy bags of soil, watering plants in just a tank top on a hot day, on her knees tending to the garden…

“Nice to meet you, Danielle,” Jamie shook her hand before her eyes widened. “Shit, I mean Miss Clayton.” She took her hand back and nervously raked it through her hair, “And now I’ve gone and said shit.”

“Twice,” Owen commented quietly with an amused smile, earning a sidelong glare from Jamie.

“I’m so sorry,” she mumbled as she fixed her gaze on the ground.

Dani surprised everyone in the room by laughing; not upset or disrespected in the slightest. “It’s fine, and you can call me Dani by the way,” she said as she smiled at Jamie, who cautiously glanced up and returned her smile. “Everyone can call me Dani,” she clarified as she glanced around, not intending to exclude the others even though it was hard to focus on anything but Jamie’s lovely smile.

“Thank you, Dani,” Jamie said as the last of the nervous tension seemed to leave her body. “I did have a feeling I was going to fuck up on the first day.”

“Dear god,” Henry muttered under his breath. Owen raised a hand to cover his quiet chuckle, while Peter rolled his eyes, and Hannah ducked her head to hide her smile.

Dani, however, was only focused on Jamie, who flushed with embarrassment again as she raised a hand to rub at the back of her neck. “Sorry.”

“We’ll work on it,” Dani replied with a playful wink to reassure the nervous brunette. Truthfully, she didn’t think there was anything that needed to be worked on as she found the language slipping from Jamie’s mouth to be surprisingly attractive.

“Right, well that’s the staff. Let’s get started on the house tour, shall we?” Without waiting for an answer, Henry began leading her toward the next room. Dani followed but paused in the doorway to look back. Jamie still looked embarrassed as Owen and Hannah gathered around her, quietly talking to her. Peter, meanwhile, was leaning against an end table, ignoring the others as he played with a lighter in his hand.

Jamie waved a hand around in frustration before she glanced in Dani’s direction, freezing when she realized the blonde was still there. Dani couldn’t help but smile before she hurried to the next room before Henry had a chance to become even more impatient.

* * *

It had been two months since Dani arrived in England and she’d already fallen in love with just about everything the charming country had to offer. Perhaps not the weather. And she was starting to miss the variety of incredible restaurants and range of diverse cuisines she’d gotten used to when she’d lived in Washington D.C. for her father’s last job. But besides those two things, everything had thoroughly exceeded her expectations so far.

Even the house, which still felt far too big and fancy for just her and her parents, had started to grow on her. She still wandered the halls and ornate rooms in amazement, constantly finding new things – rare books, original paintings - that took her by surprise. But so far, her favorite thing about the new house was that her bedroom had three large windows that looked out over the immaculately landscaped backyard. It was a breathtaking view to wake up to every morning…made all the more breathtaking on the days she caught sight of Jamie out on the grounds tending to the flowerbeds or mowing the lawn.

Dani didn’t even want to know how much time she’d spent over the past two months just observing Jamie work. She was certain seeing the amount of time tallied up would make her feel even creepier than she already felt.

Out of all the household staff, Dani by far had the least frequent contact with Jamie. She saw Owen and Hannah on a daily basis, several times a day, in fact. Peter found a way to cross paths with her on a nearly daily basis as well, even though Dani tried hard to avoid both him and any unnecessary trips that would require him to drive her somewhere.

But Jamie…she only saw her on the rare occasion that they happened to walk by each other out in the yard or on Jamie’s way inside the house to have lunch in the staff area. And Dani had to admit that most of those ‘coincidental’ and too-quick run-ins had been carefully coordinated by her so she would have a reason to see Jamie and hear a quick greeting in that endearing Northern accent if she was lucky.

Dani was growing impatient with not having a chance to have a real conversation with Jamie in the time she’d been here. The most they’d spoken was her very first day and that hadn’t been nearly enough to satisfy Dani’s curiosity. She wanted to get to know Jamie, to find out about her, maybe even develop a friendship. And more than that, she wanted an excuse to look at Jamie’s beautiful face up close and not from up in her window, staring wistfully down at the yard.

With her mind made up that today was going to be the day she had an actual conversation with Jamie Taylor, Dani headed downstairs, her determination echoing with each step. However, as the hours ticked past, Dani began to run out of ways to keep herself occupied on the main floor; frequently casting glances out the window, waiting for the gardener to come inside for lunch.

As it neared 3 o’clock, Dani started to worry that she’d somehow missed her even though she’d been downstairs since 11. Surely Jamie hadn’t come in for the world’s earliest lunch before then?

Dani headed to the kitchen where she found Owen and Hannah chatting over a cup of tea.

“Hi…sorry to interrupt,” Dani said, but quickly continued before she lost the nerve to ask. “I was just wondering…has Jamie come in for lunch? I just had something I needed to ask her…about the gardens. But I haven’t seen her.” She hoped her explanation was convincing, but judging from the matching amused smiles on both Owen and Hannah’s faces, she guessed she hadn’t achieved the level of nonchalance she was aiming for.

“Haven’t seen her,” Owen confirmed. “Though I think she’s out in the greenhouse today. Sometimes she gets so caught up in her work out there she loses track of time and forgets all about lunch. She may stop by to raid the fridge for leftovers in an hour, or she may just head off to the pub and stuff her face after work. Trust me, you haven’t seen anything quite as disturbing as that woman inhaling a plate of fish and chips in five seconds flat.”

Hannah gently cleared her throat and gave Owen an admonishing look that Dani couldn’t quite interpret. “If you’re looking to have a word with her, she’s likely out in the greenhouse.”

Owen was giving Hannah a sheepish smile before his eyes lit up and he turned to Dani with a look that indicated he’d just had an idea. “Seeing as she hasn’t had lunch, I could put together a plate for her. If you wouldn’t mind bringing it down to her, of course.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t mind at all,” Dani said with a quick shake of her head. In fact, she was quite excited about the suggestion because it would give her an actual reason to go find Jamie instead of the lie about having a ‘question about the gardens’ that she’d told Owen and Hannah.

The pair seated at the table exchanged a quick glance before Owen was up and moving around the kitchen. A few minutes later, Dani was headed down to the greenhouse with a plate covered in tinfoil. She tried to ignore the way her heart was racing at the thought of seeing Jamie again. Perhaps even the chance to sit and talk with her while she ate her lunch.

Dani tried to hide her eager smile as she approached the greenhouse and gently knocked on the already open door to alert Jamie to her presence.

The gardener looked up in surprise at the unexpected visitor. “Uh, afternoon Miss Clayton,” Jamie greeted politely as she wiped her hands on the thighs of her coveralls. “Did you need me for something?”

Dani bit her lip to keep herself from throwing out a flirtatious response; she wasn’t trying to scare Jamie off just yet. “Dani,” she corrected gently before holding up the foil covered plate in her hands. “Owen mentioned you hadn’t stopped by for lunch.”

Jamie was back to looking surprised by the response. “Owen’s got you running his errands now? Is he trying to find himself out of a job?”

A bubbly laugh escaped Dani before she could stop it. She cursed herself for acting like a schoolgirl mooning over her first crush. “No, I offered to bring it over,” she explained as she began to make her way through the greenhouse towards Jamie.

Jamie cautiously watched her approach, “And why would you offer to do that?” She asked as her brows drew together in confusion. “If I may ask,” she quickly added, as if realizing her question might come across as rude.

Dani considered how to answer the question as she closed the distance between them and held the plate out to Jamie. She ultimately decided honesty was the way to go…or at least, partial honesty. “Out of everyone here at the house, you’re the one I see the least. I don’t know much about you, and I…wanted to fix that, I guess.”

Jamie’s eyebrows raised, clearly not expecting that answer. She accepted the plate with a small nod before awkwardly leading them over to a pair of benches in one corner of the greenhouse. “Well, I appreciate the effort, but I reckon you’ll be disappointed. I lead a rather boring life.”

“Boring can be nice,” Dani quickly interjected, not wanting the conversation to be shut down before it even began. She took a seat on a bench facing Jamie before trying again. “I just mean, I’m sure a lot of people consider their life boring. But to someone who doesn’t know them…sometimes boring can be interesting.”

The gardener seemed to consider that as she lifted the foil from the plate, “I suppose.”

Dani mentally sorted through the dozens of questions she’d been eager to ask Jamie, things ranging from silly to personal that she was dying to ask to get to know her better. Based on their limited interactions so far, she could tell Jamie was a rather guarded person so she didn’t want to pry too much. She decided to start with something that seemed relatively innocuous.

“What got you interested in gardening?”

Rather than a chuckle and story about gran’s garden or dad’s vegetable patch, she was met with a nervously cleared throat as Jamie shifted uncomfortably. “That’s a…long story,” Jamie finally replied, her gaze fixed on her plate. Dani was certain she only got that much of a response because of the fact she was her quasi-employer.

So much for an easy question to start. She decided to pivot to something more recent and potentially less likely to stir up bad memories.

“How did you get this position? You just started, right?”

Jamie nodded, the gesture less tense as she took a bit of food before replying. “Just lucked out, really. I used to work out at a big manor in the country, so I guess they thought that was good enough for this position. Was good timing more than anything, what with the sudden vacancy by the last bloke who had the job.”

“Sudden vacancy?” Dani questioned. She hadn’t heard anything about the person who had the job before Jamie.

Jamie smirked as she met Dani’s gaze and nodded again. Dani could tell what this look meant and she shifted forward, eager for the gossip.

“Guy who had the job before your dad had a couple young kids, so they had an au pair on staff too. Pretty lass called Rebecca, or so I’m told. Never met her. She attracted a lot of attention around here apparently, both Peter and the former gardener were vying for her affection. Seems the gardener won, fortunately, and the two of ‘em left after the last Ambassador’s position ended. They moved to the States, I think. Maybe Canada…or France. Fuck it, I don’t know. That part of the story wasn’t as interesting.”

Dani laughed at the end of the story. She couldn’t help but pick up on the way Jamie had commented that the au pair had ‘fortunately’ ended up with the gardener. She couldn’t help but wonder if Jamie found Peter as creepy and unsettling as she did. It was too soon to start gossiping about current staff though; she did feel like she could trust Jamie, but she knew very little about her. She could raise her concerns about Peter another day.

“How scandalous,” she joked. “Although I have to say I’m kinda happy they left. Opened up the position for you, right?”

Jamie smiled, her expression a mix of confusion and happiness as she looked at Dani.

She didn’t need to be a mind reader to know Jamie was probably wondering why Dani was so happy she was there. She was glad she didn’t ask because she didn’t have a good answer, only that she’d felt unexpectedly captivated by Jamie ever since she’d first laid eyes on the gardener. Or perhaps, she hadn’t been enthralled until Jamie had tripped over her words and let slip more than one curse word on her first day, seemingly too nervous to give a courteous and composed greeting.

“So what about you?” Jamie asked, as if remembering it was polite in a conversation to ask the other person questions as well. “Why’d you travel all the way across the pond? Can’t imagine you still have to do what mum and dad say at your age.”

“You calling me old?” Dani asked, holding her mock offended expression until the startled and worried expression on Jamie’s face caused her to break into a smile. “Relax, I know what you meant. And you’re right, I don’t have to do what they say. I wanted to come here because it seemed like a great opportunity. I mean, I get temporary residency thanks to my dad’s job so I don’t need to apply for a travel visa or a work visa or anything like that.”

Jamie listened to the explanation as she continued to eat her lunch, her gaze darting up from her plate toward Dani every so often. “So here to do a bit of sightseeing and traveling then?”

“For now,” Dani agreed, knowing that was mostly how she’d spent her days in London over the last two months. “But I’m trying to go through the process of getting my teaching degree certified so I can teach here.”

“You’re a teacher?”

“You seem surprised,” Dani commented with a chuckle as she took in the look of shock Jamie fixed her with. “Do I not look like a teacher?”

Jamie let out a chuckle of her own as she dropped her gaze back to her plate. “Not like any teacher I ever had,” she murmured before clearing her throat. “Just figured you might be following in dad’s footsteps – something in business or politics. Barrister, maybe.”

“Fancy,” Dani teased, although she couldn’t deny she was pleased Jamie thought she’d have such a prestigious career. For a moment, she’d been worried Jamie had thought she was just an entitled child of wealthy parents who had come to England to travel and party. But thinking she was a future politician or lawyer was infinitely more flattering. “But no, I’m just a teacher.”

“No ‘just’ about it,” Jamie replied. “That’s a tough job. I know I couldn’t be around a bunch of kids every day – and not just put up with ‘em but actually be expected to teach ‘em too…” she trailed off and shook her head. “Way I see it, you got one of the toughest gigs out there.”

Dani knew her smile was entirely too wide, too happy. But she didn’t care. She probably couldn’t control it if she tried. “Thank you. It can definitely be challenging, but I love it.”

“That’s good, you should love what you do.”

“Do you love what you do?” Dani asked, hoping the answer would be yes. She’d be devastated if Jamie had decided that this position wasn’t for her and wanted to look elsewhere for employment.

“Yeah, I do,” Jamie answered as she glanced up with a smile.

Dani felt the relief wash over her as she returned the smile. “That’s great!” She knew her reply was entirely too enthusiastic so she decided to just keep talking in the hopes Jamie wouldn’t pick up on her overly eager reaction. “Just because you seem good at it, so it’s good that you love it. You put a lot of time into looking after the flowers and plants; even mowing the lawn, you always seem to put a lot of work into it.” She decided to stop talking, knowing her rambling was likely having the opposite effect she’d wanted it to.

Jamie raised an eyebrow at Dani, “You been watching me work?”

Dani knew she was blushing because her face was burning as if she’d just opened a hot oven and a wave of heat had slapped her in the face. “No!” She protested quickly, acting almost offended by the accusation. “I just…I’ve seen you working, yeah, because, y’know, I live here. But I’m not _watching_ you.”

“Right,” Jamie said with a nod that conveyed how little she believed Dani’s explanation.

It was their first real conversation and Dani had already managed to make herself look like a stalker. She knew she needed to leave before she could do or say anything else that might make Jamie consider a restraining order. “I should be heading back,” she announced as she stood up, “There’s, uh, just some things I need to do.”

She was almost to the door when Jamie called out to her.

“Might wanna keep an eye out for ghosts.”

Dani paused in the doorway and sent a confused glance over her shoulder, waiting for Jamie to elaborate.

“It’s just, if you _haven’t_ been watching me, then there’s a really persistent phantom who likes to hang around your bedroom window. Also seems to be a fan of dancing to The Pointer Sisters when it suspects no one’s looking.”

A startled gasp escaped Dani before she turned and hurried out of the greenhouse before Jamie could see her turn an entirely new shade of red.

* * *

Surprisingly, Jamie hadn’t been scared off by their greenhouse discussion. Quite the opposite, actually. Dani was relieved to find that rather than avoiding her even more than usual, Jamie seemed to now be seeking her out. Making small talk when they passed each other or inviting her down to the greenhouse to look at a new plant.

The next several weeks flew by even faster than her first eight weeks in England because now Dani woke up each morning wondering when, not if, she’d get to see Jamie that day. A month after their greenhouse chat, Dani was delighted to find a vase of flowers waiting for her outside her door in the morning. She was even more delighted to find another one a few days later, and so developed a routine where Dani would wake up to find a new bouquet waiting for her every few days.

And it was on one rather dreary December morning that Dani’s day was instantly brightened by the addition of a note with the bouquet, inviting her to come down to the greenhouse whenever she had a chance. It was signed with a J and an x, which caused her heart to jump despite the simplicity of the signature. She hurried to the bathroom to get ready for the day, mind already racing as she tried to figure out why Jamie wanted to see her.

* * *

Jamie was tending to her flowers in the greenhouse, trying to keep herself distracted. If she didn’t keep her hands busy, her mind would wander to what she was trying hard not to overthink – specifically that she was planning on asking Dani Clayton out on a proper date as soon as the adorable blonde found her note and decided to stop by. If she spent too much thinking about it, she knew she would get nervous and talk herself out of it before Dani even showed up and she really didn’t want to do that. So she stayed busy, kept her hands and her mind busy, while she hoped the blonde would make an appearance sooner rather than later.

She heard the sound of footsteps outside and was too relieved to notice they were too heavy to be Dani’s footsteps. She set down her watering can on her work bench and turned to greet the new arrival, “Poppins, I was...” the rest of her comment, a playful ‘wondering when you’d show up’, died on her lips as she saw Peter Quint looming in the doorway. Definitely not who she expected to see and at the very bottom of the list of people she wanted to see.

“Poppins,” Peter repeated, a gleeful grin on his face, “That’s right, I’d heard you given her a new nickname. Hannah and Owen seem to think it’s adorable.”

Jamie shrugged as she tried to brush aside the sickly feeling that seemed to settle in her gut every time he was around. “Just a nickname,” she said dismissively.

“But it isn’t just a nickname, is it?” Peter asked as he slipped a hand into his pocket and began to leisurely stroll around the greenhouse. “Or at least, that’s not all that’s been given…seems you’ve been giving Miss Clayton an awful lot of your time and attention recently. An awful lot of…flowers.”

Jamie tensed, not liking the way Peter was looking at her with that knowing look as he continued to wander around the greenhouse as if he owned it. It was her space and he had no right to be there talking to her in the manner he was.

“What’s it to ya, what I do?” She asked, an angry edge creeping into her tone. “Seems you should be worrying about your business and not mine.”

He held up his hands in a gesture to proclaim his innocence, “I’m just trying to look out for you, love. I know you’re new here and I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer a word of warning.”

“Warning?” Jamie questioned as she crossed her arms, her unamused tone conveying a warning of her own. A warning that he was getting dangerously close to seriously pissing her off.

“A friendly piece of advice,” Peter amended with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “People like the Claytons, people from money, they’re not like us.”

“Yeah? Well what do you know about me?” Jamie challenged, not enjoying being grouped as an ‘us’ with a man she barely knew, but vehemently despised.

Peter ignored her and continued, “The world is different for people like them. They look at people like us, the staff,” he corrected before he could set Jamie off again, “Like we’re every bit as disposable as the luxury items they buy and promptly forget about a week later. We’re here to serve them, to provide services within our job description…and sometimes outside of that too.”

Jamie narrowed her eyes at Peter, not liking where this is going, “Oi, I don’t know what you’re accusing me of, but I haven’t done-”

“Calm down,” Peter instructed, and it only caused Jamie’s anger to spike, “I wasn’t accusing you of anything. It’s them I’m accusing. They take advantage of us as they see fit; long hours, unpaid overtime…favors to keep hidden from their spouses. There’s a reason for all the jokes about maids and gardeners and pool boys. It’s because we get taken advantage of. Used to fulfill their fantasies and give them pleasure, only to be left behind whenever they’ve decided that they’ve had enough.”

Jamie swallowed to try to keep that sickly feeling in her gut from rising to her chest. “Why are you telling me this?”

Peter gave her a patronizing smile, “Because I want to help you. It’s obvious you’re quite taken with the fetching Miss Clayton and I just wanted to advise you to be careful. She’ll toy with you and she’ll use you, but she’ll never love you.”

Peter’s words sent a stab of pain through Jamie and the feelings she tried to keep hidden about not being good enough threatened to surface, but she quickly tried to shove them back down. “You’re wrong.”

Peter simply raised an eyebrow, challenging her to tell him how he was wrong.

Jamie cleared her throat to chase away her nerves and continued, “About the using people part – Dani would never do that. She’s not the type to toy with people and use them.” She summoned every ounce of confidence she had to meet Peter’s gaze, never letting her conviction in that statement waver even the slightest.

He held her gaze for a long moment before turning and continuing to walk around the enclosed space. “Perhaps you’re right. After all, who am I to profess to know Dani better than you? But suppose she is one of the good ones. One of the rare wealthy elite with a heart. What do you think her father would say?”

Jamie wanted not to respond. She knew she was only playing into Peter’s little game by indulging him with answers. The way he paced slowly around her in wide circles made her feel caught like a prey animal, being toyed with before the hunter struck.

“Don’t know. Reckon I don’t really care either,” she replied with a shrug, hoping it sold her attempt at indifference.

“You don’t care what the Ambassador, your boss, would think about you shacking up with his daughter? What he would think about the gardener putting soil-covered hands all over his little American princess? Dirtying her and defiling her right under his own roof?”

Jamie glared at Peter, her anger rising to the surface again. “I don’t know what you’re on about; Dani and I are just friends. No one’s shacking up with anyone.”

“But you want to, don’t you?” Peter asked with a knowing grin as he strolled closer. “You want to get very well acquainted with her, with every single part of her.”

Jamie felt the heat spreading to her face, whether from embarrassment from being called out or anger she wasn’t so sure. “Oi! Knock it off, you disrespectful prick!”

“Oh come on, Jamie, don’t tell me you haven’t pictured having your way with her. Of taking her in that big, expensive bed of hers. Or maybe you like it a little filthier, out here in this greenhouse of yours.”

“We’re friends!” Jamie snapped as she glared at him, trying to come off as intimidating as possible but knowing she probably looked as flustered as she felt. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing how bothered she was, she turned to face the plants beside her rather than his proudly smirking face.

“Yes, you are,” Peter acquiesced as he wandered closer.

Jamie tried her best to ignore him, but that proved to be impossible as he stood behind her and ducked down so he could whisper in her ear.

“My advice is to keep it at that. Go ahead and shag her if you need to get it out of your system, but don’t fall in love with her.”

Jamie felt her hands shake as her rage began to take over. However, before she could slam an elbow back into his stomach, a gentle voice interrupted.

“Is this a bad time? I can come back later.”

Jamie’s gaze snapped up to see Dani standing in the doorway looking…concerned. And something else Jamie couldn’t quite decipher.

“Not at all,” Peter replied as he straightened up, “I should be getting back to the house.” He began sauntering toward the exit but glanced back at Jamie with a knowing smirk, “Just remember, I’m only looking out for you Jamie, darling.”

If Dani wasn’t standing in front of her, Jamie would have shouted some choice words at his smugly retreating figure. Chucked a flower pot at his head perhaps – an empty one, no reason to harm a plant in her attempt to hurt Peter. However, she simply slipped her still shaking hands into her pockets and looked at Dani.

“What can I do for you?”

“Uhm…” Dani began as she took a hesitant step into the greenhouse. She still looked concerned and her gaze darted over her shoulder at Peter. “I don’t know…you asked me to come by.”

“Ah right,” Jamie remembered what she had so eagerly been looking forward to before Peter arrived. She wanted to just brush his visit off completely, ignore everything he had said, and stick to her plan. Only Dani was still looking at her with a furrowed brow and a frown almost as if she was upset. Almost as if…

Jamie paled as she realized Dani might have overheard some of what Peter had just said. Specifically, the parts where he conjectured all the things Jamie wanted to do to Dani. Up until this point, Jamie had assumed that she and Dani were on the same page with the lingering looks, little chats, and subtle flirting…but now she began to worry she had misinterpreted things. Maybe Dani really was just looking for a friend. Maybe the thought of Jamie wanting to be with her in a more intimate way was what was causing the unhappy little frown to remain on her face.

“I was just gonna show you a new flower…thought it’d be in bloom by today, but I guess not. False alarm, sorry,” Jamie lied. She was not about to divulge the real reason she’d asked Dani to come by if the idea of being with Jamie was so revolting to her.

“Oh,” Dani said as she glanced around at the various flowers and plants surrounding her, “That’s too bad.” There was a pause and the tense silence began to fill the greenhouse. Dani was the one who finally broke it, “I should get back…”

“Yeah, right,” Jamie agreed with a nod. She watched Dani leave the greenhouse with a haste Jamie had never seen before. Except perhaps on that very first day when Jamie had called her out for watching her work.

“What the fuck was that?” Jamie muttered as she turned her attention back to her plants.

* * *

The next few weeks seemed to drag on and Dani felt increasingly miserable with each day that passed. And it wasn’t the frustration she’d experienced before because she saw too little of Jamie. No, it wasn’t that because she seemed to be running into her constantly. Only now, things were weird.

Dani had thought Jamie liked her. She had really, truly convinced herself that the shy glances and the conversations in the greenhouse and the flowers that appeared outside her bedroom door meant that maybe Jamie was developing feelings for her too. And then Dani had made the mistake of going to the greenhouse at the wrong time, or perhaps at the right time, because who knows what stupid move she would have made had she not found out. But now she knew. Well, she didn’t exactly _know_ anything, but she had seen the way Peter had been leaning close to Jamie, the way he’d whispered into her ear and called her ‘darling’ as he left; she’d seen Jamie’s flushed face and shaking hands, her surprise and the seemingly embarrassed expression at having Dani walk in when she did.

And she had known, without it being confirmed by either party, that Jamie and Peter had… _something_ going on. She wasn’t sure if they were dating or just sleeping together, but either way it made Dani feel nauseous to think about. She had really thought that Jamie was as disgusted by Peter as she was. But looking back, she realized that when Jamie had said the former au pair had ‘fortunately’ run off with the last gardener, Jamie was simply relieved that it had left Peter available for her.

And now it was Christmas Eve, but Dani found she was lacking the holiday spirit more than ever. She wanted to join the others in celebrating the joy, magic, and romance of Christmas, but she wasn’t feeling particularly festive. In fact, she’d been debating returning to the US after the holidays. The awkward tension that had settled between her and Jamie was becoming unbearable, nearly as unbearable as the thought of never seeing Jamie again. But it would be less painful without the daily reminder of the beautiful gardener who had captured her heart. The gardener who had given her own heart away to a man who made Dani’s stomach knot with unease every time he appeared. She didn’t know how someone as wonderful as Jamie could fall for someone as awful as Peter.

She headed down to the kitchen to see if Owen could make her some tea. She’d been gently encouraged to leave the tea-making to Owen, or even Hannah, after the handful of times someone had the misfortune of trying a cup of tea that she’d brewed.

Dani walked into the kitchen to find Owen and Hannah sitting at the table, looking quite unhappy.

“Is everything okay?” Dani asked as she looked between their matching frowns.

“Oh, hello dear,” Hannah greeted with a smile that didn’t mask her sad eyes. “Yes, we’ve just received some news.”

“What news?” Dani asked as she hesitantly walked closer, seeing a letter on the table and a couple of unopened envelopes next to it.

“Jamie’s turning in her letter of resignation,” Owen explained as he waved at one of the unopened envelopes. “Such a shame, she was really starting to grow on me.”

“Not now,” Hannah gently chided, seemingly too sad to even feign amusement at his pun.

“She…she what?” Dani asked in surprise, feeling a wave of disappointment wash over her. She knew she didn’t have a right to be upset seeing as she was considering leaving for another country, but the news was still startling.

“She asked us to give you this,” Hannah explained as she handed Dani one of the envelopes.

“Thank you,” Dani murmured as she accepted the letter. “Will you excuse me?” She asked before she left the kitchen and returned to her room. She stared at the white envelope, with just her name printed on the front. After several long minutes of wondering what would be inside, she finally opened it up to find out.

_~~Dear Dani,~~ _  
_Dear Poppins,_

_I want to apologize for whatever you may have overheard in the greenhouse that day. I tried so many times to explain, I just couldn’t find the right words. You deserve to know that parts of what Peter said were true. I do have those types of thoughts about you, but it’s more than that. I’m actually pretty in love with you, in turns out._

_I know you probably don’t feel the same way about me. I wouldn’t expect you to. And in order to avoid a very awkward new year, I’ve gone ahead and turned in my letter of resignation._

_Merry Christmas and I hope you have a very happy New Year._

_With love,_  
_Your Jamie_

Dani felt her heart leap into her throat as she read, and then re-read, the letter. She couldn’t believe Jamie was actually in love with her – it seemed entirely too good to be true.

She wasn’t sure what Jamie was referring to by ‘what Peter said’ about her, but she found she didn’t care at the moment. There were other things to worry about. Most importantly, that Jamie had apparently resigned and she might not get a chance to see her again to tell her she felt the same.

Dani dropped the letter and bolted up from her desk. She hurried downstairs to find Hannah and Owen where she had left them.

“Do either of you know where Jamie lives?” She asked, her desperation evident in both her tone and her wide-eyed gaze.

“Vaguely,” Owen said as he bobbed his head in a noncommittal gesture.

“What does that mean?” Dani demanded.

“Means I dropped her off after work once when she was having car troubles. Reckon I could find the street again, but don’t have a clue about the house number. And it’s a rather long street…all the houses look alike.”

Dani sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. That didn’t exactly sound promising, but it wasn’t like she had any better options.

“Is everything alright?” Hannah asked as she looked worriedly at Dani’s frustrated state.

A smile flickered across Dani’s face, for a brief moment she allowed herself to feel genuinely happy about her recent discovery. “Jamie said she loves me…I need to find her so I can tell her I love her too.”

Hannah smiled warmly while Owen let out an indelicate snort.

“Is that what all this recent moodiness has been about? I could have told you both that ages ago and saved everyone a lot of trouble.”

“Hush,” Hannah said as she gently swatted at Owen’s arm. “I’m sure she’ll be very glad to hear it,” she said to Dani with a knowing smile.

“Guess we better set off…we have a lot of doors to knock on in search of one Jamie Taylor,” Owen announced as he stood up.

Dani gave him a grateful smile and started to follow him from the room. “Oh Hannah, would you mind not giving that to my father just yet.” She gestured at the letter of resignation laying on the table.

“Of course,” Hannah replied as she smoothly slipped the letter off the table and out of view.

Twenty minutes later, Owen had parked along the side of what was indeed a long street with very identical houses.

“And you’re sure you don’t remember anything else that might help us narrow it down a bit?” Dani asked as her eyes scanned the many, many houses before them.

“Dani, love, if I did, don’t you think I would have mentioned it?” He replied, his tone teasing but his expression just as tired as hers as he looked around.

“Alright,” Dani decided as she clapped her mittened hands together, “Let’s get started!”

The brief burst of enthusiasm started to wear off around the tenth house and it was completely gone by the twentieth. By the thirtieth, she’d yet to find Jamie Taylor, but she’d managed to find three other Jamies, all of them male and two of whom had made a remark along the lines of ‘are you sure I can’t be the Jamie you’re looking for?’ They’d managed to get a couple of cookies from grandmothers who thought they were carolers and then had ended up actually caroling for a group of small children who looked to be on the verge of a tantrum if they didn’t start singing.

It was dark and late and cold, but they continued to press on. Dani refused to give up and Owen was kind enough to follow her from house to house, offering words of reassurance in an effort to keep her spirits up.

“This one looks familiar,” Owen said as they started up the front walk.

“Y’know, that really loses its effect when you say that about every other house we walk up to,” Dani replied, not feeling encouraged in the least by his comment.

“Yeah, but this one seems _really_ familiar,” Owen promised.

Dani sighed, he’d also said that about the house where they’d wound up talking to a lecherous old man who had only stared at her chest and never looked once at her eyes.

They reached the front door and Dani knocked, already preparing herself for another disappointment.

“What do you want?” A middle-aged man asked as he opened the door a crack and peered out at the pair on his stoop.

“Hi,” Dani forced the smile that was starting to make her face ache with how often she’d had to hold it over the past couple of hours. “Is Jamie here? Jamie Taylor?” She’d started adding the surname at least fifteen houses ago to try to avoid any more brief moments of false hope.

“Who wants to know?” The man asked as he looked her up and down, eyeing her designer clothes that were more than a little out of place in the current neighborhood she was in.

“Dad, can I…woah, who’s that?” A boy who looked to be in his late teens paused in the hallway as he caught a glimpse of Dani through the door.

“Someone asking about Jamie,” the man replied, seeming reluctant to even offer up that much information to his son.

The boy scoffed, “What do you want Jamie for?” He asked as he walked up to the door, opening it wider so he could stand by his dad and get a proper look at Dani, ignoring Owen who was standing a few steps behind her. “I’m sure I could help you with whatever you need.”

Dani wanted to roll her eyes at the teenager’s terrible attempt to flirt with her, but this house did seem rather promising. It seemed a Jamie, a _female_ Jamie, did live here.

“Knock it off,” the older man grumbled as he tried to elbow his son out of the way. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“Mikey trying to flirt with that delivery girl again?” Another voice questioned before yet another man stepped into the small hall in front of the door. This one looked a few years older than the teenager, likely an older brother. “Oh, hello,” he stopped when he saw Dani. “You’re new.”

Dani tried to hide her rising exasperation with the household. “So is Jamie-”

“Oi! Which one of you manky fucking arseholes stole my goddamn…”

Dani glanced up with wide eyes to see Jamie storming down the stairs, only stopping her foul-mouthed rant when she caught sight of Dani.

“Dani,” she breathed out, seemingly at a loss for words as they stared at each other.

“I’m here too,” Owen said to break the silence as he ducked down to meet Jamie’s line of sight and gave her a wave.

“How do _you_ know _her_?” The teenager, the one supposedly called Mikey, asked his sister in disbelief.

Dani suddenly felt far too exposed and vulnerable with so many pairs of eyes watching her and Jamie. “Can we talk?” She asked, her gaze fixed on the gardener who nodded slowly before continuing down the stairs.

“I’d still like an answer to Mikey’s question,” Jamie’s other brother said as he leaned against the wall, “What’d you steal from her?”

“Piss off,” Jamie muttered as she pushed past her family, nudging them all back until she could shut the front door behind her as she stepped onto the stoop.

“I’m going to go get the car,” Owen announced as he began to head down the steps, “We’ve ended up quite a ways from where we parked.”

Dani didn’t glance away from Jamie’s eyes to even acknowledge Owen as he walked off to give them some privacy.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Jamie suggested as she glanced back at her house, “Can’t promise that door will keep those prats back for long.”

“I love you,” Dani blurted out, finding she couldn’t wait a moment longer. She needed Jamie to know.

Jamie looked back, her green eyes wide at the unexpected outburst. “What?” She asked softly, her hopeful tone indicating she had heard the words but didn’t quite believe them.

Dani reached forward to grab Jamie’s hand. “I read your letter and I just wanted you to know that I’m in love with you too.”

“You are?” Jamie asked as she took a cautious step closer, her thumb stroking over Dani’s mittened hand as if afraid she might slip away.

“I don’t think I would have spent over two hours knocking on random people’s doors looking for you if I wasn't,” she teased. She leaned closer, gently nuzzling Jamie’s nose with her own. “I love you, Jamie,” she repeated, finding she was unable to stop saying it now that she had started. “And I don’t want you to resign…unless you still want to. But I don’t think I could bear not seeing you every day.”

“Yeah?” Jamie asked, her hands raising to cup Dani’s face, keeping it pressed against her own.

Dani let out a light laugh at Jamie’s stunned reaction. Although the gardener wasn’t much of a talker even on a good day, this had to be setting a record for least amount of words offered. “Yeah,” she confirmed, “But I’m gonna need you to do two things.”

Jamie pulled back, hands still cupping her face, but just far enough that she could properly look into her eyes. She gave a little nod to let her know she was listening.

“I’m going to need you to tell me that you love me too, so I can actually hear you say it…and I’m gonna need you to kiss me,” Dani instructed with an affectionate smile.

Perhaps she should have been a little more specific about the order of those two requests, because Jamie’s face lit up in a grin and a split second later she was crashing their lips together. Her fingers stroked along Dani’s jawline as she pulled her deeper into the kiss.

Although she was still anticipating hearing the actual confession of love, Dani found she didn’t have any complaints about Jamie’s order of completing her requests as she eagerly responded to the kiss. Her hands gripped Jamie’s shirt as best she could with her mittens, pulling her closer as she slipped her tongue between Jamie’s barely parted lips.

The moan that escaped Jamie echoed again and again through Dani’s ears and her hands twisted just a little more insistently in her shirt.

Jamie eventually pulled away, but didn’t go far as she rested her forehead against Dani’s. “I love you, Dani,” she murmured as she began placing kisses along her cheek and jawline. “Fuck, I am so in love with you.”

Dani grinned as she actually heard the words for the first time rather than just seeing it in writing. The written words were good, but hearing them in Jamie’s voice, with Jamie pressed up against her, kissing her…that was so much better.

Dani continued kissing Jamie, hungrily, passionately, without a care in the world. She knew Jamie’s brothers were likely watching them through a window. Some of her neighbors too, perhaps. But Dani couldn’t find it in her to be concerned about anything other than Jamie’s lips on her own; her warm, probing tongue stoking a fire that burned through Dani’s veins.

The sound of a car door shutting and the gentle clearing of a throat was what eventually caused them to pull apart. Dani wasn’t sure how long they’d been making out on the porch like teenagers, but it had been long enough for Owen to go and get the car, which suggested it hadn’t been a short amount of time.

Part of Dani wanted to be annoyed with Owen for interrupting, but she knew she had no right to be anything other than grateful to him for all he had done to help her today. The least she could do was be respectful and stop taking up his time so he could get on with his own Christmas Eve plans.

“I guess I should head back,” Dani said quietly, her tone expressing how little she actually wanted to do that.

“Yeah,” Jamie nodded, looking equally as reluctant to part ways.

“You could…come with me,” Dani suggested as her expression turned hopeful.

“Tonight?” Jamie asked as she carefully searched Dani’s face for any signs of uncertainty.

“Yeah,” Dani breathed out with a decisive nod. “I know it’s Christmas Eve…and you have your family. But if you want to come over tonight, we can always come back tomorrow so you can spend time with them.”

Jamie’s face broke into a grin as she brushed her lips teasingly against Dani’s. “You inviting me to stay the night?” She pulled back in time to see the blush spread across Dani’s cheeks, which only made her smile more. “Poppins, you flirt.”

Dani couldn’t keep her own smile back, still too excited over the fact that she could flirt with Jamie. Could kiss Jamie. And Jamie would return each gesture just as enthusiastically.

“Is that a yes?” She asked cautiously, not wanting to appear too optimistic if Jamie didn’t really want to stay the night.

“Fuck yes,” Jamie replied with a chuckle, “Just let me go in and get my things and then we can go?”

Dani nodded and stepped back so Jamie could go inside and they could stop wasting time out on the porch.

Jamie ducked into the house and even though she closed the door behind her, Dani could still hear her brothers’ disbelieving protests and incessant questions about how she’d ended up with Dani. A few minutes later, Jamie was back outside, shutting the door firmly before turning and holding the hand not gripping an overnight bag out to Dani.

Dani eagerly accepted her hand and they walked towards the car where Owen was waiting in the driver’s seat. Everything felt so surreal, as if she was in a dream. Only the cold air stinging her cheeks and the firm grip of Jamie’s hand in her own let her know that it was, fortunately, all very real.

She looked over at Jamie, her blue eyes shining with excitement and adoration, “Merry Christmas, Jamie.”

Jamie glanced over with similar emotions swirling in her green eyes. She ducked closer as they reached the car and pressed a kiss to her cheek, just by her ear, “Merry Christmas, Poppins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left kind comments and kudos on this so far. My apologies again for any typos and mistakes, I'm trying to give these as thorough an edit as possible while also just trying to get them posted so I can move on to the next!
> 
> Alright then, back to work! Three down, four to go. 
> 
> Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate Christmas, and a very lovely Thursday to those who don't.


	4. Sarah, Karl, and Michael

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought that surely this would be the chapter I could keep to 2000-3000 words. It's my least favorite storyline/pairing in the movie so I could just write something short and be done.
> 
> Nope, 6500 words. Also I wanted to make this one angsty like the movie, but I just couldn't do it. The holiday season has made me soft and I didn't want to make anyone sad. That being said, if you want the angst, just stop reading right around the point you start getting as mad at Jamie as you are at Laura Linney in the movie.

“Morning, Mr. Wingrave,” Jamie greeted with a polite nod at her employer as he strolled along the garden path.

Despite seeing him more and more often over recent months as he finally started coming by to visit his niece and nephew, the sight of him still made Jamie nervous.

“Good morning,” he returned the greeting with a slight nod of his head. “Might I have a word?”

Shit. She was in trouble. Although she wasn’t sure what exactly she’d done wrong, Henry didn’t often seek her out just to socialize. In fact, he’d never done that.

They stared at each for a long moment until his gaze flicked to the greenhouse and Jamie realized he wanted to sit and have a more private chat. _Shit_.

She led the way toward the greenhouse and waited until he took a seat in one of the wicker chairs before she sat on the bench to his left. She shifted nervously as she waited for him to start talking.

“Jamie, how long have you worked here?”

“Uh…” Jamie ran a hand through her hair as she tried to sort out the answer. She’d definitely done something wrong. That’s obviously what this was leading up to – ‘and you _still_ can’t do this right?’. Problem was, she really had no clue what she’d done. She decided to just answer and let him tell her what it was she’d managed to screw up this time.

“Two years and…about three months, I suppose. Give or take a few days.”

“Right. And how long have you been in love with Miss Clayton?”

“What?” Jamie choked out as she jolted up in her seat. She was convinced she’d heard him wrong. Or perhaps it was a joke. But the neutral look Henry fixed her with indicated he was waiting for an answer.

“She, uh, started a few weeks after me?” She questioned. She knew the answer, could probably pin it back to the exact date if she thought for a moment. But she waited for his nod before she answered.

“Then I reckon…two years and two months, give or take a few days.” She exhaled a long breath and glanced up to see him giving her a knowing look.

“Oh fuck, does everyone know?” She asked nervously, her eyes widening as she realized that if Henry had picked up on how she felt, god only knew how long Owen and Hannah had known.

“Yes,” Henry said with a curt nod.

“Does…does Dani know?”

“Yes,” Henry replied, “Unless Americans are just as ignorant as we’ve always assumed.”

Jamie was so panicked that she couldn’t even find it in her to enjoy the rare joke from her boss.

“Oh god,” Jamie muttered as she buried her face in her hands. There were several curse words that wanted to escape her, but she’d already let one slip by and needed to watch her mouth around her boss or she really would be in trouble.

“What do I do?” She asked as she finally lifted her head and gave Henry a helpless look.

Henry lifted a single shoulder in a half-shrug, “Tell her you want to marry her, shag her, and look after lots of plants with her.”

Jamie’s jaw dropped, “Christ, you know that?” She wasn’t the type of woman to keep a diary, but if she were, she was certain there would be several entries detailing that very scenario.

“Yes.”

Jamie was absolutely mortified. She thought she’d been subtle. She thought she’d been great at keeping her thoughts and feelings to herself. Apparently, she’d been an open book this entire time and everyone had noticed just how much she wanted the au pair; it was probably written all over her face every time she so much as looked at Dani.

Although she still didn’t know what to do about the bombshell Henry had dropped on her; she was certainly ready for the current conversation to be over. “Right, well I’ll…figure it out then,” she murmured as she stood and glanced over at Henry. “Thanks for the heads up, I guess.”

Henry nodded and followed her out of the greenhouse. They had only just stepped outside when they saw Dani walking by. Flora dragging her by the hand as Miles raced ahead.

Dani’s face was flushed pink from the cold winter air and she was laughing at the children’s antics. She turned to look over at the pair emerging from the greenhouse. “Hi Mr. Wingrave,” she called out before her smile widened even more, “Hi Jamie.”

Jamie flushed all over again, both from Dani’s radiant smile and the knowledge that everyone apparently knew the effect it had on her. “Mornin’,” she called back, her voice wavering with nerves.

Henry chuckled behind her and if he wasn’t her boss, Jamie would have had some very choice words for him. She ducked her head and quickly headed off to continue weeding the gardens.

* * *

Ever since her conversation with Henry, Jamie had been in a funk. She was constantly lost in thought, wondering if her feelings for the au pair were really that obvious or if her boss was just some sort of mind reader. Perhaps he was just a man who’d missed his calling as a detective or a psychologist with his ability to read nonverbal cues and expressions.

Days passed as she continued to puzzle over this, and she made sure to keep her distance from Dani. If what Henry said was true, she didn’t want to give everyone more incentive to gossip about her and her hopeless crush behind her back.

While she kept her distance, she wondered if maybe she _should_ make a move – if she should do something to at least put it out there. And if her feelings weren’t returned…well, then at least she’d know and could move on. Or try to move on, anyway.

It was thoughts like these that caused Jamie to be quietly distracted throughout much of the day; whether she was working or lounging around the house, trying to keep warm in front of the fire that Owen kept going in the kitchen.

And on a boring Tuesday evening, she was yet again lost in her thoughts about Dani when Hannah called out to her, drawing her attention.

“Jamie, it’s for you,” Hannah had one hand pressed to mouthpiece as she held the handset towards the gardener.

“Oh,” Jamie murmured as she quickly stood up. She’d been so distracted she hadn’t even heard the phone ring. She didn’t have to ask who it was, the soft and vaguely sympathetic expression on Hannah’s face held the answer to that question. They were all used to these calls by now.

“Hey, it’s me,” she greeted and resisted the urge to ask what was wrong. She’d learned one too many times that asking before he had a chance to explain would only set him off. He didn’t like the assumption that he only called her when he was in trouble or when he needed something, even though that was almost always the case.

“Hey sis,” Mikey’s voice answered, “Sorry to call so late.”

Jamie glanced over at the clock, it was only just past 6 in the evening. “Not a problem, what’s up?” She asked, though she could tell even from the few, slurred words he’d uttered that he was wasted.

“Got kicked outta the pub,” Mikey grumbled. “Some wanker tried to start shit and I just defended myself. But somehow _I’m_ the one who gets tossed out on my arse.”

Jamie sighed softly. If she had a pound for every time she’d heard a variant of this explanation, she’d likely be able to retire and buy her own massive manor with a household staff. Without even knowing the details of what happened, she’d be willing to put money on the fact that it had been Mikey who started the trouble. Or, at least, he’d escalated it to the point of pissing off everyone else in the pub.

“Sorry to hear that,” she said as she ran a hand through her hair. “You alright?”

“No,” Mikey scoffed. “I think that fucker broke my nose. And it’s bloody cold out here.”

“Do you need to go t’hospital?” Jamie asked, the concern evident in her voice as she clutched the phone. If she hadn’t been so focused on the call, staring at a blank point on the wall, she might have caught the look that passed between Hannah and Owen. A look filled with sadness and a hint of disappointment for their friend.

“Nah,” Mikey replied, and then only a moment later, “Could use a ride home though. Like I said, it’s freezing out here and it’d be a long walk. I’m at some pub two towns over called Cat and Fiddle. Bloody stupid name for a stupid pub,” he grumbled.

It was no surprise he’d ended up so far from home. Jamie was sure he’d been banned from all the local places for years. Getting drunk, starting trouble, causing a scene – it was a relatively common occurrence for Mikey Taylor.

“Alright, I’ll be there in fifteen, alright? Just try to keep warm and stay out of trouble until then.” She hung up the phone and was already making her way toward the side door where she’d left her boots and coat.

“That was Mikey,” she explained as she tugged on her snow-covered boots. “Just gotta duck out for a bit to give him a lift.” She glanced at the clock again, realizing the time. She’d wanted to stay for dinner and have a nice warm meal before heading home for the day. And another chance to see Dani, who’d looked so damn cute in her light blue sweater today.

She shook her head; by the time she got Mikey and dropped him off it would be well past dinner time at the manor. “Guess I’ll probably just head home after,” she decided, feeling a stab of sadness at missing out on an evening with her friends; the lovable group of misfits who had become her second family. But her first family needed her. Mikey needed her, as he so often did.

“See you tomorrow then, yeah?” Jamie called out, not even glancing behind her to see the pitying gazes Hannah and Owen fixed her with as she left.

* * *

As far as perks of the job went, Henry Wingrave’s annual Christmas parties were definitely a huge perk in Jamie’s book. Although she didn’t enjoy having so many of his friends and colleagues wandering around the manor, she really liked the fantastic food and free top-shelf booze. She also very much enjoyed the large Christmas bonuses that Henry would give to his employees before the party started. That really put Jamie in the holiday spirit.

“How are you enjoying the party?” Hannah asked as she joined Jamie who was standing along the far wall of the sitting room, drink in hand.

“Not too bad this year,” Jamie conceded with a nod as she watched the couples dancing in the middle of the room to the cheery Christmas music mingling with the sound of happy chatter and joyful laughter.

“Don’t usually see you in this room during parties,” Hannah observed. “Usually we can’t drag you away from the kitchen.”

“Owen keeps the food and drinks in the kitchen,” Jamie replied with a cheeky smile. “Best part of any party. Only reason worth showing up, honestly.”

Hannah chuckled at Jamie’s assessment of parties. “Well, I’m glad to see you branching out. Trying a new room for a change.”

The look Hannah gave her made Jamie flush and glance down. It was as if her friend could see right through her; as if she knew the only reason Jamie had left the comfort of the kitchen was because she’d blindly followed Dani into the room. Dani, who looked absolutely breathtaking in her red dress and matching lipstick; her hair gently curled with half of it pinned back with a sparkly clip. Dani, who was dancing with Flora in the middle of the room, easy laughter escaping those incredibly tempting red lips.

Jamie cleared her throat and shrugged, not wanting to admit to any of that; even if it seemed like Hannah already knew. She glanced back up, expecting to still see that knowing smirk, but was surprised to find Hannah wasn’t even looking at her. She was looking past her, with a smile growing on her face.

“Hello, Dani.”

Jamie’s eyes widened at the name and she spun around to find Dani only a few steps away, approaching the pair along the wall with her usual cheerful grin.

“Hi Hannah,” she greeted before her gaze slid to the barely breathing gardener, “Hi Jamie”.

“Poppins,” Jamie managed to utter with a nod. She hoped her reaction seemed as if she was simply startled by the interruption and not that she was having trouble remembering how to function like a normal person in the presence of an actual Christmas angel.

“Flora decided she needed some more of Owen’s Christmas cookies,” Dani explained as she tucked a strand of blonde hair back in place. “So I was hoping maybe you’d take her place and dance with me?”

Dani was looking at her with hopeful blue eyes and a small, almost nervous, smile on her lips.

It wasn’t until Hannah gently cleared her throat beside her that Jamie realized the question had been directed to her. As if there was any question who Dani was asking, given her gaze was focused only on Jamie. Nevertheless, she had to make sure.

“Me?” She asked, her tone coming out a bit high-pitched as it reflected her disbelief.

Dani laughed softly, a truly magical sound. “Yeah, you,” she confirmed. “Please?”

A soft, strangled gasp escaped Jamie. Dani was actually asking her, pleading with her, to join her for a dance?

“Yeah, sure,” Jamie finally replied, barely noticing how Hannah gently took the glass from her hand so she could join the au pair.

Dani’s smile lit up her face as she took Jamie’s hand and led her to the dance floor.

Jamie didn’t dance. She hadn’t ever seen a point to it because she certainly didn’t get any enjoyment out of it. But now, as Dani’s soft hand was holding her own, tugging her further into the group of other people dancing, Jamie began to wonder if she’d missed out by not doing it more often.

The current song ended and immediately another started up, a slower one. Dani turned to face her. She dropped her hand and wrapped both arms around Jamie’s neck. Jamie’s hands raised to her waist and then they were swaying gently to the beat. Yeah, Jamie had definitely been missing out on this whole dancing thing. Especially with Dani.

Jamie was delighted to discover that dancing actually had a calming effect on her. Between the physical contact with Dani, their proximity, the way those blue eyes focused on her and only her, there seemed to be endless reasons why she should be more nervous than ever. But shockingly, she wasn’t.

The song faded into another, but Jamie hardly noticed. Dani wasn’t pulling away, so she wouldn’t either. And so they continued to dance together, shifting closer and closer until there was barely any space left between them.

From time to time, one of them would lean in, offer a whispered comment about someone else in the room. Playful gossip that would cause them both to chuckle. But mostly it was just dancing. And eye contact – rarely broken except for the occasional glance around the room, or the more frequent times when Jamie would dart her gaze down to Dani’s lips. And surprisingly, she often caught Dani doing the same.

Jamie was starting to wonder if perhaps this crush of hers wasn’t so one-sided after all.

“Y’know, I’ve never seen your place,” Dani mused out loud, as if it was just a random thought that occurred to her.

Jamie swallowed, trying to relieve her suddenly dry throat. “You…you want to see my place?” It was a boring, small flat located just over a pub. There was nothing special about it, save for her variety of houseplants, but she couldn’t imagine why Dani would want to see it.

Dani grinned, as coquettish a grin as Jamie had ever seen, “Why Jamie, I’d love to.”

The implication was clear. Even Jamie couldn’t deny or dismiss it as anything other than what it was - Dani Clayton was seducing her.

“Yeah,” Jamie whispered as her heart hammered in her chest. She tried to clear her head so she didn’t mess up this incredible opportunity she’d been given. “Yeah,” she repeated with a sharp nod, “I’m happy to give you the grand tour anytime you’d like; just don’t expect too much.”

Dani laughed and the sound eased Jamie’s nerves.

“When did you want to-”

“Now?” Dani interrupted, her eyes shining with hope and the unmistakable look of unbridled lust. Jamie wasn’t quite sure how she’d missed that until just now.

The gardener was stunned; she could hardly believe this was happening. She found herself nodding before her brain finished processing everything. “Now, yeah, sure,” she agreed.

Dani grinned and stepped back, but only enough to take her hand so she could eagerly lead her from the room.

Jamie didn’t live far from the manor, but the drive to her flat was the longest seven minutes that had ever passed in her life. Her impatience wasn’t helped any by the way Dani was absently stroking along her thigh as she drove, causing Jamie to press down on the gas pedal just that much harder.

They barely made it through the front door before Dani was in her arms, kissing her with a hunger that suggested she’d been waiting to do this a long time. Jamie was grateful for the almost dizzying pace that things were escalating – if she’d had time to overthink things, she was certain she’d have found a way to mess things up or talk herself out of making a move. Dani hadn’t given her a chance to do either as she pressed herself further into Jamie’s embrace.

The startled gasp Jamie emitted at Dani finally, _finally_ , being in her arms was immediately followed by the au pair taking advantage of her slightly parted lips to slip her tongue into Jamie’s mouth.

Jamie hadn’t expected to see such an aggressive side to Dani, but she was hardly complaining. She found she quite liked it. More than liked it – loved it.

She wrapped her arms tighter around the blonde and pulled her even closer as she kissed her eagerly; desperately trying to pour every ounce of feeling she had for Dani into the kiss.

Whatever she was doing seemed to have an effect as Dani pulled away panting, pupils dilated with arousal. “Jamie,” she whispered as her hands slid up to play with Jamie’s brown curls. “I believe you promised me the grand tour.”

It took a moment for Jamie to register the words in her lust-addled state. But then she nodded and tried to hide her disappointment as she began to pull away. It was fine if Dani wanted to slow things down – they had plenty of time.

Dani seemed to have other ideas, however, as she kept her arms linked around her neck to keep her close. “I was thinking maybe we could start with the bedroom…and then maybe we can finish the rest of the tour in the morning?”

“Blimey,” Jamie murmured, her eyes wide as the provocative comment sent a rush of arousal straight to her core. “Yeah, that…that sounds good. Just give me a moment, yeah?”

Dani seemed reluctant to release her hold on Jamie, but she nodded and took a step back.

“Just a minute,” Jamie reassured her before she hurried to her bedroom. Before she could do anything about the disorganized state of her room, she slid her hands into her hair, gripping tightly as an impossibly wide and excited grin appeared on her face. She tugged at her hair, welcoming the slight pain as an indication this was all really happening.

Not wanting to take too long in case Dani changed her mind, Jamie began to rush around the room, tossing dirty clothes and various other items into the bottom of her wardrobe before she shut the doors. She hastily pulled the covers on her bed up so it looked at least presentable. Her eyes scanned the room, deciding everything else was good enough.

After a deep breath and a chance to let her cheesy grin fade back into something less ridiculous and hopefully more alluring, she opened the door and leaned against the doorjamb. “Ready for the tour?”

Dani smiled and made her way across the flat towards the bedroom. Jamie was half-expecting Dani to return to her arms and start kissing her again, however, the au pair walked past her into the room.

Jamie turned and followed Dani who glanced around the space. “It’s nice,” she commented, though her gaze seemed most drawn to the bed.

The gardener couldn’t help her smirk and felt a sudden jolt of boldness as she walked up behind Dani and began kissing her neck as her arms slid around her waist.

Dani leaned back into Jamie’s embrace, her hands coming up to rest gently over Jamie’s arms.

Jamie couldn’t stop trailing kisses along Dani’s neck. She was quickly finding it to be one of her new favorite activities. She didn’t know how she’d ever be able to stop, especially not with the soft sounds of pleasure Dani was releasing every time Jamie’s lips discovered a sensitive spot.

“Jamie?” Dani asked quietly as her hands stroked over her forearms.

Jamie let out a hum as she kept placing tender kisses and nips along her neck.

“Can you help me take this thing off?”

That was certainly one way to draw Jamie’s attention away from her neck. She pulled away just enough for Dani to look over at her, drawing her full lower lip between her teeth as she waited for Jamie’s response.

“I reckon I can, yeah,” Jamie replied as she leaned back. She was embarrassed to find that her hands were trembling like a nervous virgin as she reached for the zipper. She mentally scolded herself to get it together; this wasn’t her first time, so why was she acting like it was?

Because it was Dani. The woman she’d been in love with nearly since the moment they had met. After months and years of pining, she was finally getting the chance to take things further that friendship. She could only hope that it wasn’t a one-time thing and this was the start of a very drastic and wonderful change in their relationship.

Her fingers gripped the zipper and slid it all the way down, her eyes eagerly drinking in each inch of skin it revealed. Dani took it from there as she slid the dress off her arms and then down over her hips until it pooled at her feet.

“Dani…” she whispered, all other words escaping her as the blonde turned and Jamie’s gaze traveled over the white lingerie set she had on. “You look…”

“Very underdressed compared to you,” Dani teased, though the smile playing on her lips reflected just how much she enjoyed Jamie’s reaction. She reached out and freed Jamie’s button-down shirt from where it was tucked into her trousers.

Jamie glanced down and watched as Dani’s nimble fingers made short work of the buttons on her shirt. She decided to help out by unbuttoning and unzipping her trousers and shoving them down. As soon as her shirt was open, she quickly peeled it off her arms and tossed it aside.

Dani’s eyes roamed her exposed skin and her chosen underwear for the evening – a plain white bra and black panties that seemed so boring compared to what Dani had on. However, Dani didn’t look disappointed in the slightest. In fact, she looked incredibly turned on.

Jamie was waiting for Dani to step forward and start kissing her again. But the au pair surprised her by stepping back…and taking a seat on the bed.

It was an invitation that Jamie didn’t hesitate to accept. She rushed forward to capture Dani’s lips as she leaned her back on the bed. In a quick move, she straddled Dani’s hips while her hands began to stroke over the bare skin of her stomach.

Dani’s hands slid along Jamie’s back, nails just barely grazing her skin. The teasing, ticklish sensation sent a shiver up Jamie’s spine and she nipped at Dani’s bottom lip in retaliation.

Nails dug harder into her back as a smirk formed on Dani’s face. Suddenly, the hands at her back were gone, but she didn’t have to wonder for long where they went. She pulled back only slightly as Dani arched her back and slipped her own hands behind her back to unclasp her bra.

If Jamie wasn’t so overwhelmed with lust, she might have made a teasing comment about how impatient Dani was tonight. But she knew she wasn’t one to talk. Not when she’d been waiting for this moment for years. The only reason she didn’t already have Dani naked beneath her with two fingers slipping deep inside was due to her own goddamn nerves.

Before she had much of a chance to appreciate the view, Dani was pulling her into a kiss; her tongue sliding into her mouth almost immediately. Jamie returned the kiss, eagerly digging her nails into the skin of Dani’s hips until she realized her hands could be much better utilized. She slowly trailed her fingers higher, all the while afraid that at any moment she’d do something to mess this up, or she would wake up, and Dani would simply slip away.

The feel of warmth and softness between Jamie’s fingers helped to ground her and remind her that Dani was very much there. Her slowly roaming hands finally reached their destination and she palmed Dani’s breasts, drawing a soft moan from the blonde who arched further into her touch.

The phone on the bedside table began to ring, easily cutting through the soft moans and whimpers filling the room. Jamie’s head jerked back in surprise at the shrill sound and she glared at the source of the interruption.

The ringing continued and Jamie hoped it would stop – a wrong number perhaps. She could feel Dani’s gaze on her face as soft hands ran over her back.

A long, drawn out sigh left Jamie as she eventually pulled away and shifted over on the bed until she could reach the phone.

“Hello?” She snapped, her frustration leaking into her tone.

The sound of an automated message asking if she wanted to accept the charges of a call from the local jail crackled through the line and she dropped her head into her hand with a groan. Not tonight, Mikey. Tonight of all nights. She miserably muttered her agreement and waited until the call was connected.

“Jamie?”

“Mikey, mate, what’s going on?” She asked tiredly.

“It’s not my fault.”

Jamie sighed and shook her head; of course it wasn’t. According to him, it never was. “Just tell me what happened.”

“I was at a pub, chatting with this lass, and then suddenly…”

Jamie pulled away from the phone to shoot an apologetic glance over her shoulder. Dani was sitting up and looking at her with a worried expression. She tried to reassure her with a smile, but she knew that smile was small and pained and wasn’t likely to reassure anyone.

She brought the phone back to her ear.

“And so then three of his mates are on me, and I’m trying to fight them off. And this other bloke’s going on and on about pressing charges. And now here we are.”

“Right,” Jamie said with a nod, pretending she’d been listening to the whole tale. It didn’t matter, it was always essentially the same story. A fight. Injuries. Charges. “Are you okay?”

“There were three guys attacking me, do you think I’m okay?” Mikey scoffed, “I mean, I guess physically I’m fine. Good reflexes and all that. But I really don’t want to spend the night here, so I was hoping you could…”

‘Bail me out’ Jamie finished in her head, ‘Again’. “I don’t know, Mikey,” she sighed as she glanced behind her again. After two years of wanting, wishing, hoping for this to happen, Dani Clayton was nearly naked in her bed. She couldn’t possibly imagine a worse time for this to be happening.

“C’mon Jamie, I don’t wanna be here all night. It’s cold and there are some nasty looking blokes in here with me. I can only imagine things are gonna get much worse if I stay,” Mikey pleaded.

Jamie raked a hand through her curls, “It’s just one night, yeah? I can come and get you in the morning.”

There was a pause. A long one. Followed by a sigh. “Alright…it’s just, you know what spending a night in jail does to me. Makes me think of that shit that went down in foster care…”

Jamie’s eyes slipped closed as the familiar feeling of guilt began to claw its way up from deep in her gut.

“I know, Mikey,” she said softly. She was all too aware of the terrible time her brother had in the system. She hadn’t fared much better; all those perverted men with bitter wives. Between the two of them, they’d encountered just about every awful situation the foster care system could throw at them.

But it was her fault. She was his big sister. She was the one who should have looked out for him; should have protected him. Should have prevented them from ever going into the system in the first place. If only she’d kept an eye on that damn pot…

“Alright, I’ll be there soon, okay?”

“Thanks sis, see you soon.” And then the line went dead.

Jamie slowly hung up the phone, already dreading having to face Dani. A gentle hand on her shoulder eventually prompted her to turn around.

“Everything okay?” Dani asked softly.

Jamie began to nod, her usual response whenever anyone asked her that following one of her all-too-frequent phone calls from Mikey. She paused and then shook her head, “My brother got arrested. Needs me to bail him out.” She explained, hoping Dani wouldn’t be too upset with her.

“Do you have to go now?” Dani inquired, her tone curious with a hint of hopefulness that dared to shine through.

Jamie hesitated, wondered if it would really be that bad if she let Mikey wait it out for another hour or two. Her gaze drifted over Dani…she really, really wanted to let him wait.

The guilt churned in her stomach and she dropped her gaze to the bed, “Yeah…he, uh, he doesn’t do too well in enclosed spaces. Doesn’t like feeling trapped. It’s a long story.”

Dani paused before nodding, “Okay.”

Jamie wanted to cry out in frustration. Wanted to scream into the sky and curse whoever had bestowed such bad luck onto her. It seemed only too cruel to dangle the thing she wanted most, the _person_ she wanted most, right in front of her only to rip it away at the last minute.

“I’m sorry,” Jamie mumbled as she got up and began to get dressed. A simple apology would never be enough and she knew it. She was all too aware that she may as well be throwing away the only chance she had to be with Dani as she tugged on a pair of jeans and threw a t-shirt over her head. “I’m so sorry, Dani.”

“It’s fine,” the au pair replied, although her tone was sharp, distant. Clearly it wasn’t fine.

Jamie looked over miserably as Dani put her bra back on, taking her time to clasp it behind her. She shook her head in disappointment before grabbing a pair of socks and locating her boots.

She was dressed and ready, rocking on her heels as she waited for Dani, who seemed in much less of a rush to leave.

“Need help with that?” Jamie asked as Dani pulled her dress up over her hips.

“I think I can manage,” Dani replied, still not looking at Jamie. “If you need to go, you can just leave a spare key and I can let myself out.”

Jamie considered that; she couldn’t deny that the longer she waited, the more her guilt ate away at her knowing Mikey was miserable and panicked in a small jail cell.

“S’okay,” she replied, “I can drop you off back at the manor first.”

Dani glanced over at her, “Thought you were in a rush?”

Jamie twisted her hands nervously in front of her, “I am…not ‘cause I want to be. But just ‘cause I know Mikey’s not doing so well. But I wanna make sure you get home safe, Poppins. Least I can do after ruining this perfect goddamn night.”

Dani’s gaze searched her face before she returned her attention to pulling her dress up. “It sounds important. You should go. Just leave a key and I’ll lock up when I go.”

“But how will you-”

“I’ll call a cab,” Dani replied, anticipating Jamie’s question. “Or Owen. I’ll be fine.”

“I really don’t mind-”

“It’s fine,” Dani insisted, her firm tone indicating there was to be no further discussion.

Jamie sighed. She’d really underestimated how pissed Dani was over this whole mess. She’d be lucky if she even managed to salvage their friendship after tonight. “Alright,” she agreed as she went to grab the spare key, placing it on the table beside the door. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow then.”

She yanked the front door open and glanced behind her. She could see through the open bedroom door that Dani was now seated on the bed and putting her heels back on. “I’m so, so sorry, Dani.” She hoped the au pair could see the sincerity in her eyes; she hoped she knew how much Jamie wanted to stay – how much she wanted Dani.

However, Dani didn’t respond. Just nodded to indicate she heard what the gardener had said.

With a final sigh, Jamie closed the door and left her flat.

The damn bail process was a headache like always and it was entirely too late by the time Jamie was finally on her way back home. Now that everything had been sorted out and Mikey was back in his flat on the other side of town, Jamie could now let her guilt switch tracks and give herself hell for screwing things up with Dani.

She couldn’t believe how horribly the night had turned out when it had seemed so very promising at the start of the evening. Jamie supposed she was just one of those people who had been through so much crap, had caused too many problems for herself and for Mikey, that now she wasn’t allowed to be happy.

The thought continued to circle through her brain as she trudged up the stairs. She hoped that she at least had some alcohol to help drown out her miserable thoughts. Getting absolutely wasted was the only hope she had at being able to get some sleep tonight. As restless and unsatisfying as alcohol-induced slumber was, it was better than lying awake all-night wallowing in her misery.

She unlocked her door, or rather, tried to unlock her door only to find it wasn’t locked to begin with. So much for Dani locking up behind her. She couldn’t fault her though; wasn’t even mad, in fact. After the way she’d left, Dani had every right to storm out without bothering to lock the door behind her. Even if someone had wandered in and stolen everything of even minor value, she deserved that as well.

She walked into her flat to find the main lights still on. Not surprising, Dani likely rushed out moments after Jamie had left. She dropped her bag and keys by the door before trudging toward the bedroom. Alcohol could wait, she needed to just crawl into bed and pout over her misfortune for a while.

Jamie pushed her bedroom door open and froze. Someone was there. _Dani_ was there. In her bed, wearing one of her flannels, curled up under the covers reading one of her books.

“Hey,” Dani said with a soft smile as she looked up.

“Dani, what are you…” Jamie trailed off as she took a few steps into the room. “I thought you left.”

Dani shook her head as she put the book to the side, “I hope it’s okay that I’m still here.”

Dani had the gall to look nervous. As if there was a chance Jamie would be upset to come home to find her in her bed.

“Of course it’s okay,” Jamie replied, wanting to ease any concern Dani had. “I just…honestly, I figured you’d never want to see me again after tonight.”

A soft smile graced Dani’s lips as she beckoned Jamie closer until the brunette was standing by the side of the bed closest to her. “You had a hard night,” Dani said as she gently patted the space in the bed beside her. “I figured you might want to come home to some wine,” she gestured toward the bottle on the nightstand beside her, “And it seemed like you might need a good cuddle.”

“How…why…” Jamie shook her head in disbelief before trying again. “Why are you doing this?” The question was asked so gently, her voice so full of confusion, that it had no chance of being mistaken as rude despite the blunt nature of it.

Dani smiled and didn’t answer at first as she gently tugged on one of Jamie’s felt loops, “Take these off and get in bed,” she instructed. While Jamie cautiously followed her orders, Dani continued. “I don’t just sleep with my co-workers, you know,” she said with a soft, teasing smile. “Tonight was about more than just getting into your pants. At least it was for me.”

“Me too,” Jamie murmured, still confused but not about to let Dani think for even a moment that she’d just wanted to bang her and move on. She finished removing her shoes, socks, and jeans before climbing into the bed on the other side of Dani.

“I figured that if this was something that we both wanted to do…to explore this thing between us, then that meant being here after the hard nights. Those are just as important as the good nights.”

Jamie slipped under the covers, her gaze still focused on Dani as she tried to wrap her head around the magnificent words that she was hearing.

“So…” Dani drawled as she reached over for the bottle on the nightstand, “Wine, cuddles, and we can talk if you want to, but we don’t have to. And then maybe in the morning we can get back to what we started earlier tonight…”

A grin slid across Jamie’s face as she reached over and pulled Dani into her embrace. “That sounds absolutely perfect, Poppins,” she murmured as she dropped a tender kiss to Dani’s temple. “And in the morning, I’m definitely taking you up on that offer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing but fluffy endings with these oneshots. Although one of the upcoming chapters will be a bit smutty and have a not so fluffy end scene...
> 
> Four down, three to go! I'm definitely not getting them all posted today, so I failed with my initial goal haha. But they will definitely be finished and posted over the weekend. Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! Happy Friday to those who don't!


	5. Jamie and Aurélia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jamie and Aurélia's story is my favorite in Love Actually, so I hope I was able to do them justice even though it's quite a different take on it.
> 
> Our Jamie and Dani both speak the same language...or do they? If you need help translating any of the dialogue, I've included translations in the author's note at the bottom. 
> 
> A huge thank you to colour_outside_the_lines on this one. She really came through with editing my mess of Yorkshire slang and gave me helpful feedback/ helped write things out phonetically so they sound proper Yorkshire. This chapter is at least 45% funnier thanks to her help with Jamie's dialogue. She also didn't want me to include translations at the end and wanted everyone to figure it out or look it up...I decided to be nice because even I wouldn't have been able to work some of this out. 
> 
> Enjoy!

A month, Dani thought as she stepped outside and scanned her surroundings. She got to be here for an entire month. Here, in this quaint little cottage in the English countryside. A cottage that looked as if it was taken directly from the pages of a fairytale book with its sloping thatched roof, vibrant, brightly colored garden, and the massive plot of land it was placed on. No neighbors for at least a half mile. No one to disturb Dani in her charming little oasis for the next month.

The sound of a door softly closing grabbed Dani’s attention and she glanced over to see Hannah Grose, the owner of this lovely property, joining her where she stood out on the front path.

“What do you think?” Hannah asked with a knowing smile.

Dani grinned, not even caring that Hannah knew her response before she even asked the question. “It’s perfect! It’s just what I had in mind. This house is seriously…just, wow.”

Hannah chuckled at her passionate endorsement of the little cottage. “Wonderful. Well, as you know from the advertisement, the house is yours for the month. It is fully stocked with towels, linens, some basic food items to start you off. You’ll likely need to go food shopping at some point during your stay, but you’re welcome to use whatever is in the house.”

“Awesome, thank you,” Dani replied with a grin. She couldn’t believe she was going to be staying in this adorable little house for the next month. She let her gaze wander over the front gardens again, unable to believe she’d get to admire the beauty of these flowers every day for a _month_.

“You won’t have to worry about keeping any of this up while you’re here,” Hannah said as she noticed Dani gazing at the garden. “In fact, you’ll likely be advised not to touch anything. The grounds and garden are maintained by Jamie. She’ll be here at some point every day to check in on everything. She also does repairs and maintenance around the house, so if there are any problems, be sure to let her know.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Dani said with a nod. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about someone else hanging around as it made the whole thing feel a little less private and a little bit like she’d have someone checking up on her. But she knew that after a week or two, she was bound to get lonely so having another person around for a brief chat, perhaps even over a cup of tea, would be very welcome.

“She should have been here by now…I was hoping to introduce you two before I left,” Hannah explained as she glanced at her watch. She looked back up, her brows knitted together in worry. A moment later, her face relaxed into an easy smile. “Ah, here she comes now.”

Dani glanced behind her to see a green pick-up truck making its way carefully down the bumpy dirt road. Eventually, the truck came to a stop and a woman with curly brown hair stepped down from the cab.

“Jamie, dear, this is Dani Clayton. She’ll be staying in the cottage for the month,” Hannah explained with a warm smile as the brunette walked down the front path.

“’Ey up,” Jamie greeted with a nod as she approached the pair.

“Um…” Dani furrowed her brow as she glanced between Jamie and Hannah. “What?”

“She means hello,” Hannah clarified before shooting a playfully scolding look at Jamie, “I’m afraid you’ll have to get used to the Northern accent as well as the Yorkshire slang. It took me quite a while to fully understand her, and I’m afraid every time she goes home to visit family, her accent seems even stronger when she gets back.”

Jamie rolled her eyes, but there was no real irritation behind the gesture as she smiled at Hannah.

“I was just explaining to Dani that you’ll be by during the day to look after the gardens. And I told her to let you know if there are any problems with the house that need to be addressed.”

Jamie nodded as her gaze quickly darted to Dani before returning to Hannah.

Dani was still taking her time admiring the woman stood beside her and Hannah. Jamie was younger than she expected. And if she was honest, much, much prettier. Even dressed casually in a tank top and overalls with her hair tied back in a ponytail, she looked gorgeous. She was a bit disappointed that Jamie had shown very little interest in her, hardly more than a passing glance. However, the gardener was just listening to Hannah’s instructions and she figured she should probably do the same.

“Now, Dani doesn’t have a car, which will likely be a bit of a problem if she wants to head into town. I’ve left the number for the local cab company inside, but perhaps you might be willing to give her a ride every now and then? If it works with your schedule, of course.”

“Blimey, ‘annah…gi' ‘er a ride? That’s bloody bold of ya. Full-service operation that you’re runnin’ ‘ere, is it?”

Hannah let out an embarrassed chuckle as she swatted at Jamie’s arm, “You know what I meant. And you better behave yourself.”

“What did she say?” Dani asked as she glanced between Jamie and Hannah. The thick Yorkshire accent had obscured most of the comment, leaving only a few words she was able to decipher. She knew she missed something, she just wasn’t sure what.

“Oh it’s nothing,” Hannah said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You’re probably lucky you won’t be able to make out some of her more off-color jokes.”

“Gi’ o’er,” Jamie muttered with a playful roll of her eyes, “You know full well that am ‘ilarious.”

Dani immediately looked to Hannah with a furrowed brow, hoping for a translation.

“Perhaps this arrangement won’t work out to be quite as practical and helpful as I’d hoped,” Hannah joked, although her tone was more concerned than jovial. “It seems I need to hire a translator as well.”

“It’ll be reyt,” Jamie reassured Hannah with a dismissive shrug.

Hannah didn’t seem convinced as she looked over worriedly at Dani.

“Yeah…what she said,” Dani said with a nod that looked more confident than she felt. She was assuming Jamie was simply assuring Hannah things would be alright. Though she wasn’t sure – either with the accuracy of her translation or the sentiment it expressed.

“Alright then, best of luck,” Hannah said with a timid smile as she looked between the two. “I’m sure you’ll get along fabulously…once you smooth over the communication issues.”

Dani and Jamie watched as Hannah made her way to her car, offering them a final wave of farewell before driving off.

Dani glanced over at Jamie, unsure of whether the nerves building in her stomach were because of how attractive she found Jamie or because she didn’t understand a single word that came out of her pretty mouth.

“Reyt, best get to it then,” Jamie said slowly, carefully saying each word before backing away with a tight-lipped smile.

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Dani nodded as she watched the gardener turn and quickly made her way to get the tools stored in her truck. Not wanting to make an even worse impression by being creepy and standing around in the yard to watch her work, Dani turned and headed back to the house.

* * *

The first week passed slowly as Dani settled into her new surroundings. It seemed like every day she was finding something new to fall in love with – either within the cottage itself or out on the beautifully maintained grounds.

She was even starting to get used to the peculiarities that came along with staying in a foreign country. After several days of searching for a laundry room, she realized the combination washer/dryer was located in the kitchen, which she’d previously overlooked as an unfamiliar kitchen appliance. The thermostat had confusing temperatures, as did the oven, her bedroom door didn’t have a lock, there was no garbage disposal in the sink, and the kitchen had no coffee maker, but rather offered an electric kettle and instant coffee grounds.

Dani slowly acclimated to these differences; however, the one thing she couldn’t seem to wrap her head around was the gardener’s regional dialect and thick accent.

Dani tried, she really tried, to listen carefully on the rare occasions Jamie spontaneously spoke to her. She hoped that if she paid close enough attention, she could figure out what was being asked and give a proper answer without asking the other woman to repeat herself. However, most times she was left staring cluelessly at Jamie until the gardener either broke it down into slower, simpler words or just walked away without an answer.

It would be easy enough to avoid conversation altogether. Jamie had been working there for years and didn’t need to ask Dani for much except perhaps a glass of water or if she could come inside to use the toilet. But Dani found that she _wanted_ to talk to the gardener. The beautiful yet frustratingly hard to understand woman intrigued her and Dani wanted to get to know her better. Which is why she continued to come up with an endless list of reasons to talk with Jamie before or after, or to the gardener’s annoyance, during her work hours.

On this particular day, she’d asked Jamie to come inside to help her make tea. She explained that she hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet. Fortunately, Jamie had taken one glance at the watery, sad looking liquid in her mug and had followed her inside to help.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’m just in my pajamas,” Dani said as she watched Jamie filling the kettle with water. “You’re here earlier than usual and I didn’t have a chance to get ready yet.”

“It’s fine,” Jamie replied as she returned the kettle to the heating element and flipped the switch. With nothing else to do but wait for the water to boil, Jamie reluctantly turned to face Dani as she leaned back against the counter, arms crossed.

Dani ran a hand through her hair. She was used to Jamie’s terse replies. Sometimes all she got was a nod or a shake of the head; although, that was probably for the best given their tendency to misunderstand one another. Yet Dani couldn’t seem to control the urge to keep talking, trying desperately to form some sort of friendship between them.

“You should just be lucky I remembered to put on pants before I came out to find you. Usually I sleep without them,” Dani explained with a playful smile. “And sometimes I’ll just wander around the house in the morning like that too.”

“Blimey,” Jamie replied as her eyes widened in surprise. “No pants?”

Dani started to feel self-conscious about the response her statement elicited. “No, I mean sometimes I wear them to bed. Or shorts. But usually just underwear.”

There was a long moment where Jamie just stared at her before something finally seemed to click. “Aye...Americans say pants not trousers.”

It was then that Dani caught on to the misunderstanding as well, “Oh…yeah, I definitely sleep with ‘pants’ on, just not pajama pants,” she clarified. “I promise I’m not walking around the house with nothing on.”

Jamie shrugged, “Fine by me if ya want to. No judgments ‘ere.”

Dani ducked her head as a blush spread across her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten such a simple difference and now Jamie thought she just walked around naked like she owned the place. Fortunately, Jamie returned her attention to making the tea and the awkward moment passed.

Jamie made her way closer and handed Dani a cup, which was accepted with a smile and a quiet ‘thank you’.

“Cheers,” Jamie said as she held up her own cup before taking a sip.

They stood in the kitchen silently sipping their tea and avoiding eye contact in what was becoming an increasingly uncomfortable moment before Dani decided to take another stab at making conversation. “How are you doing today?”

Jamie bobbed her head as she considered the question, “Fair t’middlin’.”

Dani just blinked at the gardener, completely baffled. Sometimes she wondered if Jamie was just saying nonsense on purpose to try to get her to stop trying to converse with her.

Jamie heaved a sigh at the blank look on Dani’s face. When she opened her mouth again, she spoke slowly and deliberately. “Fine…’ow are you?”

“I’m okay, thanks,” Dani replied. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked at Jamie, wondering if she should even ask Jamie for a favor given how awkward things were between them. However, her supply of food in the pantry and fridge was dwindling and she desperately needed to stock up. And the thought of having to call a cab to take her there and back was not ideal.

“What are you doing after you finish work here today?” She asked, hoping that Jamie’s day was relatively free so she wouldn’t be inconveniencing her.

“I ‘an’t owt t’do,” Jamie explained with a shrug.

“Oh…okay,” Dani said with wide eyes and a slow nod as she took a moment to try to sort out what Jamie had said in her brain. She had…something to do? “And will that take long?”

Jamie drew in a deep breath through her nose and slowly exhaled before responding. “Don’t ‘ave anything to do.”

“Oh, well great!” Dani exclaimed with a grin.

The look Jamie gave her was clearly questioning why she was so excited over her lack of a social life.

“I need to go grocery shopping…would you mind giving me a ride into town?” Dani asked, her smile soft and hopeful.

Jamie seemed to chuckle to herself about something before shaking her head. “Yah, I’ll gi’ ya a ride.”

“Great, thank you,” Dani enthused as her smile widened. “Just let me know when you’re done then and we can head to the store.”

Jamie nodded and placed her empty cup in the sink. She offered Dani only a quick, tight smile before heading outside to get back to work.

Dani finished getting ready for the day and decided to read outside to pass the time. When Jamie finally gave her the heads up that she was finished for the day, Dani dashed inside to grab her purse before heading out front to find that Jamie was already waiting in her truck. She hurried over and climbed into the passenger seat.

The ride to the store started out in near silence, save for the music playing softly from the radio and the sounds the old truck made as it traveled over the uneven country roads.

Dani always had trouble being around someone without making some sort of small talk, but with Jamie she felt an even stronger urge to try to converse with the enigmatic gardener. Even though she was almost positive it would turn out to be another wasted effort.

“It’s a pretty day,” she commented as she turned her gaze from the window to look at Jamie.

Jamie furrowed her brow at the disruption and only gave a small tilt of her head in response.

“The scenery is beautiful. I know it’s just fields and hills, but it’s nice,” Dani continued as she turned her head back out the window. Her idle observation was met with more silence.

Dani tried to take the hint that Jamie wasn’t up for small talk; she tried to accept that the other woman preferred to just drive in quiet peace. A minute passed by. Followed by another. And then Dani was opening her mouth again.

“We have a lot of fields back in Iowa too. Not like this though. These seem more scenic. We have a lot of farms. A lot of farms and a lot of farmland. Which can be pretty in its own way, but I don’t know. I like the fields out here better,” Dani continued as she turned her attention from the window back to the driver.

Jamie looked over and just stared at her for a moment before returning her gaze to the road. “Ya talk too fast,” Jamie grumbled, “And t’much.”

Dani realized that as much trouble as she had understanding Jamie when she spoke quickly, maybe the other woman had the same problem understanding her as well. Or she was just being rude.

“Sorry for wanting to shoot the breeze for a bit,” Dani muttered, feeling a little frustrated that Jamie was apparently content with not getting to know her at all.

Now Jamie was just looking at her with pure confusion before she shook her head and turned her attention back to the road.

Dani wasn’t sure if she’d spoken too fast or too quietly or had unwittingly used another American expression that Jamie didn’t know the meaning of. This time though, she didn’t bother to ask and just sat in silence for the remainder of the ride, which fortunately, did not take very long.

“Oh, I need to grab a cart,” Dani announced as they walked towards the entrance of the store.

“Trolley,” Jamie corrected as she strolled in behind Dani, hands shoved in the pockets of her overalls.

“That’s not a trolley,” Dani remarked with a playful smirk. “Clang, clang, clang, went the trolley,” she murmured quietly as she retrieved a cart. She glanced over eagerly to see Jamie fixing her with a vacant stare.

“The Trolley Song?”

More confused silence.

“Judy Garland?”

A slight nod of recognition, but the confused expression didn’t waver.

“Meet Me in St. Louis?”

“A…film, am guessin’?”

Dani sighed as she turned around and began pushing the cart down the first aisle. Another failed attempt to connect. She’d never realized just how many differences could exist between two countries that technically spoke the same language. Then again, she thought back to how many regional differences there were just in the United States. An idea formed for a possible bonding opportunity and she glanced over at Jamie with a grin.

“Y’know, in some parts of New England, they call this a carriage,” she said as she gestured towards the metal cart. She chuckled at her comment and shook her head, “Like a baby stroller.”

“Pram,” Jamie corrected automatically.

Dani whirled around to face her, “Ugh, I wasn’t…that wasn’t an attempt to debate. We were just supposed to laugh over how this is definitely not a carriage!”

Jamie looked startled as she looked from the cart back to Dani. “We were?”

Dani realized how idiotic she sounded trying to orchestrate a conversation. It was just another failed bonding opportunity; she shouldn’t be so surprised. “Let’s just get the food,” she grumbled as she turned her attention back to the items on the shelves in front of her.

Fortunately, there was little need for conversation as they strolled up and down the aisles. Dani would call out the items on her list that she couldn’t easily spot on her own and Jamie would point her in the right direction.

However, every now and then, the differences between the two countries would present another frustrating language barrier.

“I can’t find the zucchini,” Dani said as she glanced over to see if Jamie could give her usual silent indication of the direction she should be looking. Only she was met with a vacant stare and furrowed brows.

“Zucchini…” Dani repeated a little louder, hoping that Jamie just hadn’t heard her. The gardener’s expression didn’t change. Apparently, it was time for a fun round of trying to describe a rather nondescript item and hoping Jamie could figure it out.

“You know, it’s a vegetable, it’s about this long,” she held up her hands to demonstrate the size and shape of the item. “Kinda looks like a cucumber, but it’s not a cucumber. And it has this little thing on the end.”

She continued to use her hands to gesture, hoping something would get through and she’d see that spark of recognition in Jamie’s eyes. She wasn’t expecting the smirk that formed as Jamie watched her continue to gesticulate and the gardener looked up at her with one eyebrow quirked in amusement.

Dani realized that her attempts to demonstrate a zucchini could very easily be interpreted as something else and she quickly dropped her hands. “Come on, do you know what I’m talking about or not?”

“Think you’re lookin’ for a courgette,” Jamie explained, slowly so Dani could understand her even with her accent. “Either that or a cock.”

Dani felt her face flush as she shot Jamie a glare. “Where are the courgettes, then? Because I’m definitely not looking for the other thing you said.”

Jamie seemed even more amused by Dani’s response and she simply pointed towards the far end of the produce section.

Dani stomped off with her cart and was relieved to find that apparently a ‘courgette’ was indeed what she was looking for. She grabbed a couple before heading onto the next section, Jamie following a few paces behind.

“Oh, I want to get some pickles,” Dani decided as they passed by the rows of jars with familiar green lids.

“Gherkins.”

Dani rolled her eyes, “A gherkin is a type of pickle, but maybe I don’t want that kind.”

Jamie stared at her with a blank look, as if she was wondering why Dani would want any other kind.

“Yeah,” Dani continued, refusing to back down even if she wasn’t even that picky about what type of pickle to get. “Maybe I want a dill pickle or a bread-and-butter pickle. There are a lot more varieties than just gherkin!”

“But…gherkins…” Jamie said slowly, confused as she glanced around the aisle.

It didn’t take Dani long to understand that in England, apparently any pickled cucumber was just ‘gherkin’. “This is the problem with only having one word to categorize an entire variety of food. You’re missing out,” she said with an air of superiority as she marched down the aisle, pushing the cart in front of her.

They experienced less confusion over the next few aisles, much to Dani’s relief. Mostly because she was just spotting items that looked good and tossing them in the cart, no conversation needed. There was a minor back and forth about crisps vs. chips, but only due to stubbornness and not confusion over the translation because that was one they both knew.

“Oh cookies!” Dani exclaimed as they started making their way down the dessert aisle.

Jamie nodded and apparently decided to make herself useful by selecting some for Dani. A moment later she returned with a package of chocolate chip cookies.

“Thanks…” Dani replied slowly, not wanting to seem ungrateful. “But I don’t know what kind of cookies I want yet, there are so many options.” She waved a hand at the display in front of her.

“Those are biscuits,” Jamie explained and held up the package in her hand, “You said cookies.”

The biscuit vs. cookie debate was another one Dani knew but had forgotten. “These are all cookies,” she explained as she waved her hand along the aisle.

“What wo’ it you said abart oni ‘aving one word for an entire type of food?” Jamie asked.

Dani’s eyes narrowed at the reference to her comment in the pickle aisle. Although she wouldn’t claim to have understood every word that had just left Jamie’s mouth, she caught the gist of what she was saying. “That’s different,” she insisted as she grabbed a package of biscuits and the cookies in Jamie’s hands and tossed them in the cart. “Because we actually have something called a biscuit and it’s not any of these.”

Jamie nodded, “But that’s a roll.”

“It’s not a roll,” Dani sniffed as she continued walking.

“It’s a roll.”

Dani whirled around, “Have you had proper American biscuits?” She challenged, waiting until Jamie shook her head slowly to confirm her suspicion. “Exactly. See, you can have biscuits with dinner like a roll, but you can also have them for breakfast. Unlike a roll.”

“Scon then,” Jamie shot back.

“No, and it’s _scone_ ,” Dani corrected, her pronunciation rhyming with ‘cone’ whereas Jamie’s seemed to rhyme with ‘con’.

“Oi! Who came up wi’t word?” Jamie asked. “Reckon we know what it’s called.”

Dani huffed and continued pushing the cart down the aisle. “You’re still wrong about biscuits.”

Jamie gave her a disbelieving look, as if she was still sure she was right and it was either a roll or a scone.

“Do I have to make them for you to prove that I’m right?” Dani questioned.

“You offerin’ to mek me breakfast?” Jamie asked as a smile played on her lips.

“To prove how wrong you are, yes,” Dani replied.

“Fine…but am mekin’ the tea. Can’t let a Yank ruin a proper brew.”

Dani fought back a chuckle, not wanting Jamie to see how amused she was by the playful jab at her inability to make tea. Instead of replying, she just nodded and continued to work her way through the last few aisles.

“I think that’s everything,” Dani announced as she scanned the list. She glanced over at Jamie and decided to be polite since she’d done her such a huge favor by bringing her to the store. “Is there anything you want? You can just throw it in the cart.”

Jamie smiled and shook her head, then she paused for a moment before a small smirk tugged at her lips, “Nah, nowt…unless you wanna wang thissen in’t trolley.”

Dani’s head tilted to the side. Her eyebrows knitted together. And what seemed to be her most frequently used word throughout the course of this trip slipped from her lips. “What?”

Jamie’s smirk only widened; almost as if she’d been counting on Dani not being able to understand her. She just shook her head and walked off towards the checkout line.

* * *

Dani was sitting outside, enjoying a surprisingly pleasant afternoon by the side of a small pond at the edge of the property. This particular spot had become one of her favorites given how peaceful the pond was, how beautiful the trees and vegetation surrounding it were…and the excellent view it gave of her of Jamie working in the back garden.

Most of the time, she was able to stealthily observe without Jamie catching her. Today, however, she must have let her gaze linger a little too long because all of the sudden the gardener was looking over at her from across the yard with a curious expression.

Searching for an excuse, any excuse, to be looking her way, Dani quickly held up the pitcher of lemonade on the table as if offering for Jamie to come and join her for a break. She expected a shake of the head and Jamie getting back to work. Instead, the gardener gave a reluctant nod and before making her way over.

Dani hadn’t been expecting that. She wasn’t prepared for it either, but she quickly tossed the rest of her lemonade out on the lawn before refilling the glass for Jamie. She just hoped Jamie wouldn’t pick up on the fact that there was only one glass on the table and find it weird.

She handed the lemonade over and received a nod of thanks as Jamie took a seat in the chair opposite her, her back to the pond. “Do ya’ mind?” She asked as she pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket.

Dani shook her head and tried not to stare at Jamie’s mouth as she lit her cigarette and took a deep drag. The silence settled around them as it so often did when they spent time around one another. Dani was determined not to be the one to break it this time with more of her idiotic rambling. God knows she didn’t need to give Jamie another reason to make fun of her.

“So you’re American, yeah?”

Dani glanced over in surprise. She hadn’t expected Jamie to be the first one to speak. As the question properly registered, her eyebrows lifted in amusement. “Are you only just realizing that?”

“Oi, pack it in,” Jamie scolded as she kicked at Dani’s foot with her boot. “Tryin’ to mek conversation.”

“Pack what in?” Dani asked with a chuckle.

“Means knock it off.”

“I’m sorry,” Dani apologized with a smile that betrayed how unapologetic she actually was. “Yes, I’m American.”

“What ya doin’ all the way out ‘ere for a month?”

Dani shifted uncomfortably as the memories came rushing back.

“S’alright, don’t ‘ave to tell me. Not my business,” Jamie said quickly as she caught on to Dani’s obvious discomfort.

“No, no it’s okay,” Dani said with a shake of her head. She realized she hadn’t really talked about it since it had happened; it might do some good to actually get it out.

“Some stuff happened back home and I figured a month in a foreign country might do me some good. Give me time to process and what not.”

Jamie seemed curious, but at the same time looked like she wasn’t going to press for more information. Dani decided to just get it out before she changed her mind about telling someone. “I came home from work early one day and found my fiancé, uh,” she paused and glanced away, trying to find something to distract from the memories, “In bed with one of my friends.”

“Christ,” Jamie muttered. “What kinda barmy bell end would fuck around on you?”

“Sorry?” Dani said as she looked over at Jamie. Between the low tone, thick accent, and slang she wasn’t able to figure out quite what she meant.

Jamie just shook her head, “Sorry to ‘ear that.”

Dani ran a hand through her hair, “Thanks.” She paused as she chewed her bottom lip, debating whether or not to explain any further. “I can’t really blame him though, at least, not as much as I probably should. I was never the best girlfriend. Or fiancée. I didn’t care at all about planning the wedding and I didn’t really like…being intimate with him.”

“It’s not for everyone,” Jamie replied with a shrug. She seemed to be making an extra effort to speak slowly and enunciate her words for Dani’s sake. “Dunt gi’ ‘im a right to do what he did.”

Although Dani knew Jamie brought up a valid point, there was more to it than that. She didn’t have to explain that to Jamie, but she found that she wanted to. She trusted her, although she wasn’t quite sure why. “I wasn’t exactly honest with him either. I mean, I never cheated. But I also never told him that the reason I wasn’t all that interested in sex is because I’m a lesbian.”

Hearing the label out loud still caused her stomach to clench with both nerves and excitement. She looked over to monitor Jamie’s reaction to her announcement. She was surprised when the gardener just nodded but didn’t look the least bit surprised. Dani wondered if there was another communication issue at play.

“You’re the first person I’ve told, actually…”

Another nod, a brief smile.

“And you don’t have any reaction to that?”

Jamie smirked as she held Dani’s gaze, “Already knew that, love. From the way you were properly eye-fuckin’ me the first day I met ya. And every day since.”

Dani instantly flushed. She couldn’t deny that she’d done that; she just hadn’t realized she’d been so obvious.

“You don’t have to be so cocky about it,” she muttered as she tore her gaze away from Jamie’s smug smile.

“Nah, but I am,” Jamie shot back as she brought her cigarette back to her lips.

Dani knew Jamie was messing with her and decided to get some pay back. She quickly grabbed for Jamie’s lighter and chucked it at her…only her aim was a bit off and it sailed over Jamie’s shoulder and into the pond behind her.

“Oh no,” Dani murmured as she watched the ripples spread across the water as the lighter sank into the depths. “Was that important?”

Jamie had also turned to watch the lighter sinking into the murky pond. “It was mi dad’s.”

Dani caught the ‘was’ and couldn’t help but assume that meant her dad had passed away. And here she’d gone and thrown a special keepsake into a dirty pond. “Crap, I’m so sorry,” she apologized, knowing words weren’t likely to make the situation any better. “I…I’m gonna get it,” she decided as she stood up and marched determinedly to the edge of the pond.

“It’s reyt,” Jamie insisted, but Dani was already stripping off her sweater before slipping off her shoes and jeans as well.

“Ya really don’t ‘ave to…” the gardener continued, but her voice sounded less sure…almost distracted. Dani figured she was just trying to hide her disappointment. She took a deep breath before running into the pond.

“Oh fuck!” She cried out as the cold water fully registered by the time she was waist-deep. “Oh I didn’t think it would be this cold!”

“Dani, y’alright?” Jamie called out, the concern evident in her voice.

“Yeah!” She yelled back, even though she wasn’t so sure. “Just gonna…find it.” She started to make her way towards the area where she thought it had ended up.

Her teeth were already chattering by the time she reached the spot and she began to feel around with her toes, hoping to graze against the metal of the lighter instead of the mud and rocks and gunk currently underfoot.

A loud splash distracted her and she glanced over to see Jamie making her way over.

“Bloody ‘ell, it’s fucking nitherin’!” Jamie exclaimed as she slowly made her way closer.

Dani tore her gaze from where she was admiring the sight of Jamie in just her bra and underwear, having shed her clothes on the shore as well. “It’s what?” She asked nervously, wondering what nithering meant and if that was something she needed to be concerned about.

“Why are you in ‘ere?” Jamie asked as she drew closer.

“I’m gonna find the lighter,” Dani promised as she continued to feel around using her feet. She would have attempted to dive down to search for it, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to see anything given how murky the water was. Her foot brushed over something that felt slimy and she swore it moved.

“Are there fish in here?”

“Aye…likely some eels too.”

“Eels?” Dani shrieked as she took a step closer to Jamie.

“Let’s just get out, yeah?”

Dani looked over at Jamie, who was much closer than she’d realized. Her face seemed unusually pale, likely due to the frigid water, but she still looked incredibly beautiful. She also seemed more than ready to get out of the pond.

Dani nodded as she followed Jamie back onto dry land. She still felt absolutely terrible, but she hadn’t realized how futile of a search effort it would be until she was actually in the water. Truly it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. A freezing, eel-infested haystack.

An hour later they were both curled up on the couch, freshly showered and sitting by a roaring fire, courtesy of Jamie, sipping tea, also courtesy of Jamie, wrapped in towels and under a big pile of blankets, courtesy of Dani.

“I’m so sorry about your lighter, Jamie,” Dani apologized again. “I didn’t realize I had such terrible aim.”

“Your aim is total shite,” Jamie agreed with a chuckle. “But it’s okay. I ‘ave about three more of his old lighters back ‘ome.”

Dani’s jaw dropped and she stared at Jamie in disbelief, “Why didn’t you tell me that before I jumped into the pond after it!”

“Din’t gi' mi chance before ya started tekin’ ya kit off!” Jamie protested.

Dani fell silent as a sheepish blush started to spread across her face and chest. Although she hadn’t understood everything - she understood enough to be embarrassed. In hindsight, it really hadn’t been her best idea to jump into the pond without first checking to see if it was something Jamie really wanted back.

“I, uh, I’m not complainin’, by the way,” Jamie added after a long pause.

Dani looked over, not quite sure what she was referring to.

“Bout you tekin’ your clothes off…definitely not complainin’. Just wish you ‘adn’t gone in a freezin’ pond after.”

“So you…want me to take my clothes off but not jump in a pond?” Dani asked, her eyes shining with delight. After all this time of Jamie barely talking to her, was it possible she was actually flirting?

Jamie glanced down at her nearly empty cup of tea, avoiding Dani’s amused gaze. “I should get back to it,” she announced as she set her cup on the table.

“But your clothes,” Dani pointed out as she looked towards the damp clothes hanging by the fire.

“Keep a spare set in the truck,” Jamie explained as she began shuffling away in her towels and blankets.

Knowing she’d embarrassed Jamie with her teasing caused Dani to grin gleefully – it served Jamie right for teasing her earlier. “Aw Jamie, come back and tell me more about what I should and shouldn’t do after taking my clothes off!”

Jamie shot her a glare that lacked any real irritation and did little to hide her flustered state as she headed out the front door.

* * *

“Last week, eh?” Jamie asked as she wandered into the kitchen. It had become an unspoken agreement that Jamie would come in and make a pot of tea before starting work.

“Yeah,” Dani said, letting out a sigh at the reminder.

“Don’t sound too ‘appy ‘bout it.”

“Because I’m not,” Dani replied as she leaned against the counter.

Jamie stopped filling up the kettle and set it gently on the counter before turning around to face Dani. “Then you should stay.”

Dani’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Here?”

Jamie’s shoulder lifted in a shrug, “In England anyway. ‘annah might not be too pleased if you refuse to vacate ‘er property.”

An amused laugh escaped Dani before she paused to consider it. It would certainly take some work to set up a life in a new country. But it wasn’t like there was really anything waiting for her back home.

“I might,” she said with a slow nod as she continued to mull it over. “Or at least, I’ll go back and try to work out how to come here for good.”

Jamie smiled and seemed satisfied with Dani’s response. “Good. England would be lucky to ‘ave ya.”

Dani couldn’t hide the playful smile that formed as she walked closer to Jamie. “Even though you can’t understand my American ways? Or most of my delightful American phrases?”

Jamie chuckled as she glanced at Dani, “I’m ‘opeful that we’ll train those outta ya with time.”

The mention of time caused Dani to wonder if Jamie intended to be in her life for quite a while. The tension between them, once an awkward tension due to the language barrier, had noticeably shifted to something far more sexual in nature over the last week. Yet neither of them had done anything to really address it. But if Jamie wanted her to stay…wanted her around for a while; Dani figured that could only be a good thing.

She stopped when she was in front of Jamie, an eager smile pulling at her lips over what she was about to do. “Gotta train the bloody American to speak like a reyt proper Northern lass?” She said in her best impression of Jamie’s dialect, although with an exaggerated deep voice to mock the Yorkshire accent.

“Mate, I do _not_ sound like that,” Jamie said as she gave Dani a little shove. But Dani saw the smile on her face that suggested she’d enjoyed it more than she let on.

“I think I nailed it,” Dani shot back, her smirk dripping with confidence.

“Well, I do declare it sounded a heck of a lot better than how y’all sounded before,” Jamie replied in an over-exaggerated Southern accent.

Dani’s jaw dropped. “Okay, first, I’m not Southern, so learn some damn geography you bloody wanker,” she scolded, the British slang sounding just a tad silly in her Midwestern accent. “Second, you didn’t even use those phrases right! I’m one person, I can’t be referred to as ‘y’all’.”

“Sounded pretty accurate to me,” Jamie admitted with a dismissive shrug. “You open your mouth, that’s what I ‘ear.”

“Now that I know you hear a Southerner who can’t use their own slang correctly every time I open my mouth, maybe I’ll just keep it closed. How would you like that, huh? A week of silence.” Her threat was empty and they both knew it from the teasing look on her face.

“Don’t reckon I’d like that at all,” Jamie admitted. She tilted her head and seemed to be considering something before she spoke up, a slightly nervous, but flirtatious smile appearing on her face. “But then again, I can think of things we can do that don’t involve talking…”

Dani returned the smirk with one of her own. After days of dancing around it without either of them making a move, Jamie finally presented her with an opportunity and she eagerly took it. They’d wasted nearly three weeks, she wasn’t about to let any more time slip by.

She grabbed Jamie’s hand and started to lead her away from the kitchen, walking backwards so she could watch the gardener’s reaction as she caught on to where she was taking her. “So are you saying that you want me to be quiet? Because I can if you want…”

“Not what I fuckin’ said. I better hear that mitherin’ American accent echoing these halls,” Jamie growled as she chased a gleefully giggling Dani into the bedroom.

* * *

Six months had passed. Six long months of phone calls, letters, and the odd gift sent through the international post. But the six months had been worth it because now Dani was the enthusiastic recipient of a UK work visa thanks to a new job at a school located only twenty minutes away from the flat of one Jamie Taylor.

Dani stepped through the international arrivals door and eagerly glanced around. It didn’t take long for her gaze to settle on a beaming brunette holding a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.

Despite the long flight and dreadful customs line, Dani felt her tension slip away as an excited grin spread across her face. She raced forward and into her girlfriend’s arms, not caring who was around to give them a disapproving look at the public display of affection.

Jamie didn’t hesitate to wrap her in a tight embrace, the bouquet pressing into Dani’s back. The gardener placed a tender kiss to her cheek, hugging her even closer. “Welcome ‘ome, love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> “Blimey, ‘annah…gi' ‘er a ride?” = Blimey, Hannah...give her a ride?
> 
> “Gi’ o’er. You know full well that am ‘ilarious.” = Give over/get over it. You know full well that I’m hilarious.
> 
> “It’ll be reyt,” = It’ll be right/okay
> 
> Fair t’middlin’ = Can’t complain/doing alright
> 
> “I ‘an’t owt t’do” = I haven’t got anything to do
> 
> “What wo’ it you said abart oni ‘aving one word for an entire type of food?” = What was it you said about only having one word for an entire variety of food?
> 
> “Oi! Who came up wi’t word?” = Oi! Who came up with the word? (I know 'scone' is Scottish, Jamie’s claim merely refers to UK vs. US. I also know the scone vs. scon pronunciation is debated even within the UK. There’s only so much of this hotly debated topic I can fit into dialogue without it sounding weird lol)
> 
> “You offerin’ to mek me breakfast?” = You offering to make me breakfast?
> 
> “Fine…but am mekin’ the tea” = Fine, but I’m making the tea.
> 
> “Nah, nowt…unless you wanna wang thissen in’t trolley.” = Nah, nothing…unless you wanna throw yourself into the cart.
> 
> "What kinda barmy bell end would fuck around on you?" = What kind of stupid/crazy dick head would cheat on you?
> 
> “Dunt gi’ ‘im a right to do what he did.” = Doesn’t give him a right to do what he did. 
> 
> “Bloody ‘ell, it’s fucking nitherin’!” = Bloody hell, it’s fucking freezing.
> 
> “Din’t gi mi chance before ya started tekin’ ya kit off!” = Didn’t give me a chance before you started taking your clothes off!
> 
> “I better hear that mitherin’ American accent echoing these halls” - I better hear that whiny American accent echoing these halls


	6. Juliet, Peter, and Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know no one asked for a 12,000 word chapter for one of my least favorite Love Actually pairings, but that’s what you’re getting. 
> 
> I honestly don’t know what happened with this one. I think I was trying so hard to fix what I didn't like about the storyline in the movie and then it just kept going and going. I really liked it while I was writing it and then I kinda hated it while I was editing it. But I couldn't tell if it was shit or if I was just ready to be done with it. 
> 
> Also, I know this whole thing is already based on a movie, but the song that ended up being kinda perfect and helped to inspire some descriptions in this chapter is Cath by Death Cab for Cutie. 
> 
> And with that rousing introduction, enjoy!

“You staying for the Newcastle game?”

Jamie took a sip of her beer before glancing over at Owen. She was about to agree before she suddenly realized she actually had plans for the day. “What time is it?”

Owen glanced at his watch. “Ten to 3.”

“Ah fuck.” Jamie set her pint glass down. “I’d love to stay, but I have that fitting to go to.”

“Oh yes, the final fitting,” Owen replied with a smirk. “Have to keep up with your best man duties, eh?”

Jamie glared at her friend, “I’m glad you find my misery so amusing.” She reached over to grab a few more chips from the basket they were sharing. Although she knew it wasn’t advised to eat before a fitting, the rather baggy suit she’d been stuck with would hardly be affected by her mid-afternoon snack.

Owen chuckled and shook his head. “I just don’t get it. Why did you agree to be the best man if you didn’t want to do it? He’s not even your best mate – because that title belongs to me.” He smiled proudly before taking a sip from his pint.

“Yeah? Well, keep it up and see if you still have that title,” Jamie shot back. She sighed as she grabbed another chip. “It’s not that I don’t want to do it. Eddie’s a good guy. I just assumed he’d ask one of his brothers, but apparently, they’re not that close. I mean, I knew we were friends but I didn’t realize we were that good of friends until he asked me to be his best man.”

“Really? Because you certainly spend enough time with him. I’d be worried about the security of my position as your best friend, except you always look so miserable after hanging out with him.”

“No I don’t,” Jamie grumbled.

“Perhaps ‘always’ was an exaggeration. But there have been multiple occasions where you look like someone just punted your dog off a bridge after spending time with him.” He swatted her hand away so he could grab a chip from the basket before she could finish them off.

Jamie flicked his hand, but turned her attention back to her beer; she raised the glass to her lips and drained the rest of its contents. “Don’t know what you’re on about, mate. Think you’re just jealous I have another friend that I like almost as much as you – might like him more on the days when you make particularly awful puns.”

Owen gasped, “But my puns are the key to our friend-chip.” A jovial smile appeared on his face as he poked her in the cheek with a particularly greasy chip.

Jamie rolled her eyes and slapped some money on the bar. “Well, I’m off to see my _best_ friend to get fitted for my best man suit.”

“Now you’re just being cruel,” Owen teased. “Call me when you’re done hanging out with him if you want someone to keep you company while you mope around.”

Jamie gave a dismissive wave of her hand as she headed towards the door. As soon as she stepped outside, the thoughts she’d been holding back in Owen’s presence rushed forward. Even though she’d pretended to be ignorant, she knew exactly what he was talking about. She couldn’t deny there were times when she was in a particularly bad mood after spending time with Eddie – she just didn’t want anyone to know _why_.

Jamie had first met Edmund O’Mara five years ago when he’d studied abroad in London during his final year of college. They crossed paths at a random party, neither of them quite able to recall how they’d ended up at said party, but they ended up chatting until the early hours of the morning. After that night, Eddie eagerly clung onto Jamie as a potential new friend to show him around the city. Jamie would have been annoyed, but she was trying to pull herself out of a rough time in her life and needed friends who wouldn’t drag her back down to the not-exactly-legal things she’d been involved with.

Eddie had seemed like a good choice for a new friend – he was perhaps a bit too excitable and eager, but harmless enough. He didn’t have much of a sense of humor, but he was kind and smart. And most importantly, he never once tried to hit on Jamie and he never made her feel uncomfortable in a way many men did. So, she eventually caved in to his attempts to befriend her and they became nearly inseparable over the next few months.

Their friendship waned once he returned to the States to finish his degree. Eddie sent the occasional letter or card and Jamie responded to some, but not all, figuring this was yet another person who would drift out of her life. No point getting attached. And then, two years later, Eddie wrote to tell her he’d gotten a job in London and would be moving there with his girlfriend in a matter of months.

Jamie had been surprised – both by the announcement and how eager Eddie seemed to meet up with her as soon as he relocated. Their friendship picked up as soon as he was back on English soil as if no time had passed. Although she was reluctant to admit it since she found Edmund ridiculously dorky and so _American_ , she was happy he was back. They met up a few times to reconnect over drinks at the pub and then one night - one ordinary Tuesday night, Eddie invited her over to his flat for dinner with him and his girlfriend. Jamie accepted the invitation, admittedly intrigued to meet his childhood sweetheart whom she’d heard so much about.

That was the night Jamie’s whole life changed. At least, that’s what it felt like. As much as she’d heard about Dani Clayton from Eddie, the endless stories didn’t seem to do her justice. She was practically perfect in every way and Jamie was enthralled.

She knew it was wrong to be so captivated by her friend’s girlfriend – his amazing, yet very _straight_ girlfriend. The next few times that Jamie was invited to spend time with the couple, she tried desperately to find reasons to cool her absurd crush on Dani. She even went so far as to ask her questions intended to return answers that Jamie would find annoying so she would be less attracted to Dani. Her plan had backfired, however, as every answer Dani gave and every little thing she did only made Jamie fall a little bit harder. Eventually she gave up trying to get to know Dani; gave up on trying to search for reasons to dislike her. She loved everything about Dani, and that was a serious problem.

So, Jamie decided to take a step back. She started to distance herself from Eddie and Dani in an effort to cool her growing crush. It proved to be yet another futile effort. Even though she was no longer spending time around Dani, Jamie still thought about her constantly. She thought about her even more than before, if that was possible – and she was at least three times more miserable. So Jamie had resumed their friendship, but from that point on made sure to keep her distance from Dani, at least emotionally.

Physical distance was too painful, but emotional distance was necessary. If not for that, Jamie was certain her feelings would spiral out of her control, overwhelming her better judgment to the point she might do something truly stupid and reckless, like confessing her love for Dani. And something that absurd would surely result in her losing Dani, and Eddie, from her life forever.

It had been nearly two and a half years since Jamie had made that decision and so far it had worked. It had gotten her through frequent dinners and get-togethers with Eddie and Dani; it helped her stomach witnessing countless public displays of affection and, perhaps most importantly, it had helped her survive assisting Eddie with planning and execute his marriage proposal.

The emotional distance effectively prevented anyone from knowing her true feelings. It kept everyone happy; at least, everyone but Jamie, who privately succumbed to her internal anguish nearly every night – either by way of drinks at the pub beneath her flat or quiet tears in her bathroom. But it was worth it to be around Dani; to see her happy, radiant smile. Jamie didn’t think she could give that up – just the idea of not having Dani around was more horrifying than the current torment she put herself through on a regular basis.

As she rounded the corner and the tailor shop came into view, Jamie shook her head to clear her thoughts. Now was not the time to let her mind wander freely. Not when she was about to spend the next hour or so with Eddie and the rest of his groomsmen for their final fitting. She couldn’t risk letting her sadness take over; no one could know the reason why she’d been in such agony over the last three years of her life. Especially not Eddie.

“Sorry I’m late,” she called out as she stepped through the door of the small shop. She wouldn’t admit that she’d intentionally planned on being at least thirty minutes late to the fitting. The rest of Eddie’s groomsmen, his two brothers and his work friend, Peter Quint, were not exactly the people she wanted to spend an afternoon with. Hence why she decided to show up late enough to miss a good chunk of the idle chatter while they tried on their suits, but not too late that she’d miss the appointment altogether. She didn’t want to disappoint Eddie, after all.

“No problem!” Edmund replied with his eager, too-wide grin as he saw her. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yes, nice of you to join us,” Peter added snidely with a smile that was intended to look teasing, but instead just made Jamie want to punch him right in the mouth. She had no idea why he was always such an ass to her – although she figured it had something to do with the fact that she’d harshly shut down his advances when they’d first met. Even after he found out she was a lesbian, he still seemed offended by the fact that she’d turned him down and had been intolerable to be around ever since.

“Got a bit held up,” Jamie explained as she joined the group. “But I’ll just try it on quick so we can head out.”

“Yeah, yours is right in here,” Eddie said as he led her towards the dressing rooms in the back of the shop.

Jamie followed and stepped into the room Eddie indicated, “Thanks, I’ll be right out.”

He nodded with a grin; almost looking a little _too_ eager. However, she was used to seeing him overly excited about every aspect of this wedding. In fact, he often seemed far more excited than the blushing bride – who typically looked more exhausted and nervous than ‘blushing’.

Jamie undressed and began to put on the suit when she stopped and frowned. This was not the same suit she’d tried on during the initial fitting. It looked similar – it was still a grey suit, white button-down shirt, and grey tie that matched the other groomsmen. But as opposed to the slightly baggy and not-quite-right one she’d tried on a few months back, the one that was a men’s suit in the smallest size available to fit her petite frame, this one was definitely different.

She finished putting it on and looked in the mirror. It was a woman’s suit – still perfectly tailored using the measurements from her initial fitting but a much more flattering style and cut. It looked incredible.

“How did you…” she started to ask as she stepped outside of the dressing room.

Eddie still had that excited grin on his face as she headed for the small platform and floor-length tri-fold mirror. “The other one just didn’t look right. You’re my best man, you deserve to have a suit as great as you.”

Jamie returned his smile as she stepped up on the platform and allowed the tailor to assess the fit for any last-minute adjustments. “Thanks, Eddie. It looks amazing.”

He beamed at her, clearly pleased that she appreciated the gesture. “Even though I’m getting married, doesn’t mean I can’t still be a good wingman. You’re going to have your pick of ladies at the wedding. Seriously, they’re gonna be falling all over you in that suit.”

Jamie’s smile slipped, only slightly and only for a moment. When it returned to her face, it was a bit tighter, less sincere, but she knew no one would notice. She appreciated that Eddie had always accepted her fully and without question ever since she first came out to him. And she was grateful for how much effort he put into trying to find her “Mrs. Right”, as he would say. Which is why she would never tell him that it was her pathetic yet all-consuming crush on his future wife that kept her from ever truly perusing other women, apart from the occasional one-night stand.

“Falling over me, huh? Think I’m looking forward to that,” she replied back with an easy smile. If she played along and acted the part of the perpetually-single-but-eagerly-searching best friend, it kept people from looking too closely. It kept them from asking questions about why all her first dates never led to a second date.

“Second pick, maybe,” Peter replied, “I think I’ll be having first pick of the ladies. You missed it, Jamie darling, but I looked very dashing in my suit.”

Jamie kept her gaze on the mirror and resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she knew Peter got a rise out of irritating her. “That so?” She commented in a bored tone.

“It is,” Peter replied in his annoying, smug tone. “In fact, I think Eddie should keep a close eye on his bride in case she tries to leave him and run off with me.”

That was the final straw. Jamie couldn’t keep her composure any longer. She whipped her head around to glare at Peter. “Show some fucking respect, you dickhead.”

There was a brief silence before Eddie’s laughter, soon followed by that of his brothers cut through the room.

“See, that’s why Jamie’s my best man and not you,” Eddie told Peter with a chuckle. “She’s loyal.”

Jamie dropped her gaze to the floor. Eddie’s comment bounced around her head and the familiar feeling of guilt began to claw its way up from the pit of her stomach. She would never admit that it wasn’t loyalty to Eddie that caused her to snap at Peter, but rather her own disgust at the thought of Peter even being within arm’s reach of Dani.

The tailor continued to make note of the final adjustments and Jamie kept her gaze on her reflection. She silently willed herself not to let Peter get to her again. It was the only way she could get through the week before the wedding, and the wedding itself, without killing him. She’d hate to disappoint Eddie, and more importantly Dani, by being locked up for murder and miss out on their wedding. Although given the choice between watching the woman she was hopelessly in love with get married or spending the night in prison, she might choose the latter.

“Oh, you look…”

Jamie felt her heart jump at the familiar voice. The cheerful tone and Midwestern accent that she could instantly place in any crowd. She’d been so lost in thought she hadn’t even noticed the little tinkling bell over the door announcing the arrival of someone new.

She glanced over to see Dani making her way across the small shop towards her. No, not towards her – towards Eddie and the other groomsmen lounging around in chairs while they waited for Jamie to finish her fitting. Of course Eddie invited his fiancé to the final fitting for the groomsmen. _Of course_ he did. Never mind that it was highly unusual for the bride to be present for this particular part of the pre-wedding prep.

She held Dani’s gaze and waited for the other woman to finish her thought. Dani just smiled and shook her head, “You look great, Jamie.” Dani turned to look at her fiancé, his brothers, and Peter. “What about the rest of you?

“We already finished,” Eddie explained as he looked at his fiancée with the dopey smile that appeared whenever she walked into a room. Jamie quickly glanced away, choosing to stare at herself in the mirror rather than her lovestruck friend.

“The best man finally decided to grace us with her presence a full thirty minutes late,” Peter added with a bitter edge to his tone.

Dani seemed to ignore him as well as she looked from Peter back to Eddie. “Did you tell them about the cameras?” Dani asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.

“Cameras?” Jamie asked as she instinctively glanced around the shop to see if there was something she’d missed. Something like video cameras recording the event for the sake of posterity, or something like that.

“Relax Jamie, there aren’t any cameras in here,” Dani teased her with a light laugh, apparently able to read Jamie’s thoughts from the way she was frantically searching around.

Jamie felt herself flush with embarrassment over her misunderstanding and Dani’s resulting amusement at her expense. She mentally scolded herself for looking so stupid in front of Dani. In the blink of an eye, she put up the barriers she tried to keep intact at all times when she was around Dani. The carefully constructed neutral exterior; her demeanor perhaps a little cold, a little distant, but very necessary to keep herself from slipping up and letting Dani see what was hiding beyond those barriers.

“It’s just a bit unsettling to be the only female getting dressed in a shop full of men and have someone walk in talking about cameras,” Jamie defended herself in a cool tone, devoid of any amusement.

Dani’s smile faded in an instant. “Yeah, uh, sorry about that,” she murmured as she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

Silence temporarily filled the room before Eddie broke the tension by addressing his fiancée. “I haven’t told them yet,” he said with an apologetic smile before turning to look at his groomsmen. “Dani and I decided to skip the whole professional photographer thing to save money. But we knew our mothers, especially my mom, wouldn’t be too pleased without pictures to remember the big day, so we came up with an idea.”

He glanced over at Dani to let her explain and Jamie could tell this was yet another one of Dani’s ideas. For all the times that Dani seemed entirely disinterested when talking about her wedding, she was always full of ideas to save money; ways to pare things down in an effort to make everything simpler. It seemed a bit unusual for someone to want as little fuss as possible over their wedding. In fact, Jamie would have found it comical how it was the groom constantly trying to talk the bride into doing things on a grander scale if she didn’t feel do despondent every time the topic of the wedding came up.

“I just figured we don’t really need a photographer, you know?” Dani explained with a shy smile that Jamie knew to mean she and Eddie had engaged in frequent discussions over this very topic and she had won – like always. “It’s just a lot of money and a lot of time spent standing around for pictures. Instead, I thought it would be fun to have some of the guests and some members of the bridal party who have decent cameras take some photos during the night. With all the pictures everyone takes, I’m sure we’ll get plenty of good ones.”

“We’re not asking you to take pictures the whole night,” Eddie reassured his friends. “I just know some of you have some decent cameras, so if you can get some good photos in during the night, that would be great. I’m still trying to get Dani to agree to let me hire a photographer for an hour after the ceremony for pictures. My mom will kill the both of us if we don’t at least do that.”

Dani let out a polite chuckle at his gentle teasing, an uncomfortable smile on her face. “Yeah…you’re probably right,” she agreed. “I just really don’t want to make a fuss – I think it’ll be good if it’s nice and simple.”

‘And boring’ Jamie mentally added, but didn’t say it for fear of upsetting Dani. Nothing cut through her heart more than seeing sadness in those gorgeous blue eyes. She’d been the cause of it far too often in her attempts to keep her barriers up and her feelings safely hidden, never to see the light of day.

Over the past three years of knowing Dani, she had lost track of how many times she’d watched those blue eyes go from hopeful to disappointed each time she’d turned down an invitation for a ‘girls day’ or one of the many other events Dani had coordinated in an effort to get to know her better. Jamie had been absolutely gutted every time, but she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t trust herself to spend that much time around Dani without risking permanent damage to the walls that surrounded her heart. It would only take one slip up, one moment of Dani realizing how she felt about her, and then she’d lose both Dani and Eddie for good.

Fortunately for Jamie, the fitting wrapped up not long after that and she was able to make her escape back to her flat. Back to another night alone with nothing but the company of her plants as she counted down another day closer to when the woman of her dreams married one of her best friends.

* * *

“You doing alright?” Jamie whispered to Eddie who was practically vibrating where he stood – whether from nerves or excitement, she couldn’t be sure. Probably both.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said as he glanced over with a bright smile and eager nod. Excitement, then. Well, she couldn’t blame him. If she was the one standing in his place, she was certain there wouldn’t be an ounce of hesitation in her body.

“You…you do think she’ll be here right?” Eddie asked, his smile fading as he looked to his best man for reassurance.

And there are the nerves, Jamie mused with a tiny smile. Interestingly enough, they had nothing to do with feeling unsure about this life-altering commitment he was about to make, but rather concern over whether his fiancée was ready to make the same commitment. Jamie was certain that this had to be the most backwards wedding dynamic she’d ever witnessed – although she had known that throughout every step of the planning process.

“She’ll be here,” Jamie promised with a warm smile and a friendly hand on his shoulder. The statement was equal parts trying to reassure the nervous groom, as was her duty, as well as trying to keep herself from entertaining the thought that maybe Dani wouldn’t show. She couldn’t let herself have that kind of hope.

Eddie flashed her a grateful smile and nodded, some of his tension slipping away. After a moment, he looked back over at her. “You don’t have any surprises in store, right?”

Jamie chuckled and gave him a sly smile, “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The bachelor party incident was more than enough of a surprise for one wedding,” Eddie teased her playfully, although his gaze still searched her face as if looking to see if she had any hidden plans.

A laugh escaped Jamie at the reminder. As best man, it had been her job to plan the bachelor party. Eddie had initially said no to strippers or strip clubs, but eventually agreed after his older brother, Glenn, and Peter both talked him into it.

Jamie wasn’t proud of how incensed she had become at the thought of Eddie ogling a barely clothed woman when he had someone as gorgeous and incredible as Dani at home. She knew she couldn’t sit through an evening of watching Eddie, his brothers, and Peter drooling over beautiful women while getting hammered. So…she’d hired male strippers. Seeing their reactions when the ‘entertainment’ arrived had made Jamie’s whole night – Eddie had been shocked, but amused by the prank, while Glenn and Peter had gotten angry before resorting to sulking the rest of the night. Meanwhile, Eddie’s younger brother Carson had been the only one who seemed to actually enjoy the show.

“I promise there’ll be nothing like that.”

Eddie didn’t look entirely convinced, but decided to switch topics. “You have your camera?”

Jamie held up the camera in her hand, giving him an amused smirk for even asking since it had been in plain sight. “I’m all set, mate.”

“Good,” he released a nervous chuckle and shook his head. “You’re the only one I trust to take good photos.”

“Oh, you’ll probably regret that,” she teased, earning the genuine laugh she’d been hoping for. He seemed to relax a bit more as he turned to face straight ahead.

Only a moment later, his last remaining concern was resolved when the processional music started up and the bridesmaids began making their way down the aisle.

Jamie knew that as best man, she should be the one to get the photo of Eddie’s face the moment he saw Dani. It was an iconic moment and would be a very valued picture. Everyone else would be taking pictures of the bride; there was no need to add her own to the mix. But as the moment drew closer, Jamie found her camera pointed at the open double doors, waiting for Dani.

And then Dani made her grand entrance and began walking down the aisle. Jamie’s breath caught in her throat as her finger tapped repeatedly on the shutter button, capturing photo after photo. She lowered the camera with shaking hands and did her best to steady her breathing. Dani looked absolutely stunning in a tea-length blush colored dress that Jamie knew was passed down to her from Eddie’s mother; her blonde hair was half back in an updo and her makeup was flawless. She looked like an actual goddess, sent down from the heavens to bless Eddie with more luck and good fortune than any one man should rightfully have. Jamie roughly swallowed, shoved her racing heart back into its cage, and tried to focus on the words the minister was saying.

* * *

It seemed Eddie had gotten his way with at least one aspect of the wedding, as there was indeed a photographer booked for the hour immediately following the ceremony. Jamie was surprised by how tired Dani looked as she posed for picture after picture. She wondered if anyone but her even noticed how stiff her posture was; how fake her smile was.

If anyone else picked up on it, they certainly kept it to themselves. All the other members of the bridal party grinned happily for the camera, but Jamie was certain her smile looked about as insincere as Dani’s. However, after years of forcing the same smile around Dani and Eddie, she was certain no one would notice; instead they would likely just assume it was the only smile Jamie was capable of making.

After nearly every possible configuration of the bride and groom, their mothers, and the bridal party, the photographer was closing out the hour with some shots of just Dani and her bridesmaids. Jamie took the opportunity to slip away from the group to get to the reception venue. She needed to make sure everything was ready for the final surprise of the wedding, which she’d successfully hidden from everyone, save for the venue staff.

Jamie was the first to check out her handiwork, ensuring everything was perfect before allowing the rest of the guests, the ones who had gathered in the hotel lobby for cocktail hour instead of remaining behind at the church for pictures, enter the ballroom.

She watched the guests’ reactions to her surprise and her confidence grew. She knew it had turned out well – but judging from everyone’s reactions, it was somewhat of a work of art. The venue that Eddie and Dani had selected for their reception was quite plain and boring. It was a rather bare hotel ballroom that they’d gotten for a good price – Jamie was sure that had been the selling point for Dani.

The large, bland room had been spruced up a bit thanks to the tablecloths and centerpieces on each table, but it was still quite underwhelming. Far too simple for someone as extraordinary as Dani. So, Jamie had taken it upon herself to craft an elaborate tunnel of branches and vines woven together, a variety of flowers matching the muted color scheme of the wedding strategically placed throughout the ornate structure. A last-minute addition had been fairy lights wrapped throughout the branches to illuminate the flowers and keep the structure from seeming too dark. The tunnel was only about five feet long and seven feet high, but it created a magical effect that caused those who passed through it to feel as if they were entering an enchanted wonderland.

Jamie watched as several guests posed by the tunnel for pictures and smiled to herself. So far, it was a big hit. She just hoped the person she’d created it for had the same reaction.

The rest of the bridal party eventually arrived, the other bridesmaids and groomsmen commenting on the tunnel as they made their way into the venue and headed for the bar. A minute later, the DJ grabbed the microphone to announce the arrival of the new Mr. and Mrs. O’Mara and Jamie swallowed down the bile that burned at the back of her throat as she raised her camera.

Through the tiny viewfinder, she watched as Eddie and Dani made their way through the tunnel, both looking equally surprised by the unexpected decoration. And then – a wide smile spread across Dani’s face as she paused in the tunnel to simply look at the beauty that surrounded her. Jamie thought it was the first real smile she’d seen on Dani’s face all day, but she pushed the thought aside. There had likely been many others, especially during the ceremony. But Jamie wouldn’t know because she hadn’t been able to bring herself to look at anything other than a spot on the back of Eddie’s suit jacket until the vows were over and the minister pronounced them man and wife.

Her camera snapped picture after picture of Dani in the tunnel, a look of awe and pure joy on her face until Eddie urged her to keep moving out to the dance floor with a gentle tug of her hand. And if Dani’s smile seemed to falter only to be replaced with the fake one she’d been wearing all day – well, Jamie figured she was just imagining things.

She made it through her best man toast; a carefully written speech intended to sound as if she hadn’t put as many hours into it as she had. It struck the right balance of jocular and sincere. She’d started with a few playful jabs at Eddie, an amusing anecdote or two, and then cautiously added in the expected comments about how Dani was out of his league and he had lucked out by finding her.

She had practiced that part of the speech for longer than she cared to admit, making sure her hands didn’t shake, her voice didn’t break over the words and betray even an ounce of how much she truly meant those words. If anything, that particular section of the speech had come out a little stilted, a little fake, but Jamie would rather that than an unintentional disclosure of her own feelings. Her speech ended with a couple of genuine compliments about what a great guy Eddie was, some well wishes for the couple, and then the microphone was passed to the maid of honor and her job was done.

After the dinner portion of the evening, Jamie entertained herself by getting drinks at the bar and staying along the outskirts of the party to take pictures of the event. She wanted to believe that she was only taking so many photos to keep others from coming over to make small talk, and while that was partly true, she knew the main reason was because it allowed her to look at Dani for hours on end with the perfect excuse of wanting to document the evening for the happy couple.

Eventually, she got tired of aimlessly wandering in circles around the ballroom and took a seat to rest. However, her gaze didn’t stray from Dani, who was dancing with Eddie and laughing along at something he said. A wistful smile made its way to Jamie’s face. Eddie was a good guy and he _really_ loved Dani.

Over the years, there had been times that Jamie almost wished he would reveal himself to be just another possessive asshole. It would make it easier for her to hate him and to convince herself that Dani deserved better. That Dani would be better off with _her_. But that wasn’t the case and she eventually realized that was for the best, because Dani loved Eddie and more than anything, Jamie just wanted Dani to be happy. She wanted her to be with someone who would love her and make her truly, undeniably happy.

“Are you in love with him?”

Jamie stiffened in surprise as she glanced over to see that someone had taken a seat beside her. She only recognized the woman and knew her name, Rebecca, because she was Dani’s maid of honor. From what Jamie had gathered during their limited interactions, she was kind, intelligent, beautiful, and had a delightful smile.

On any other day, Jamie might have tried to pick her up for a one-night stand. But on this particular day, she was far too miserable to even entertain the idea. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get Dani out of her head if she tried to bring anyone back to her flat and she wasn’t up for a night of silent tears in her bathroom while a confused woman waited for her in her bed, wondering why Jamie wasn’t able to follow through with a night of fun.

“Pardon?” She asked, not sure she understood what exactly Rebecca was asking her.

Rebecca smiled before glancing over to the newlyweds, “You keep watching them. You’ve taken more pictures tonight – for free, I might add, than any professional photographer I’ve ever seen. So, I thought maybe you’re in love with him, but you’ve never been able to admit it to anyone. And if that was the case, I wanted to ask, so you could talk about it with someone.”

Jamie couldn’t help but smile and let out a quiet chuckle at the thought. “No, definitely not,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m exclusively interested in women, actually. Definitely not secretly pining over Eddie. He’s just been a really good mate and I want to make sure I get pictures of the big day for him,” she explained as she held up the camera. She hoped Rebecca wouldn’t turn the question around; ask if it was Dani she was pining for then. She would lie, of course. Refute the claim even more adamantly than the ridiculous notion that she was in love with Eddie.

Fortunately, Rebecca didn’t ask. She just laughed at the explanation, “Right, definitely not in love with him then. My bad.”

“Not a problem,” Jamie said with a smile as she glanced back at the crowd on the dance floor, doing her best to look at anyone other than Dani while Rebecca was still so close.

“So, best man,” Rebecca began with a smirk in her voice, “I was wondering if you could give me the inside scoop on some of the other groomsmen. I’ve had my eye on the one called Peter. He’s ridiculously handsome and he’s been flirting with me all day…think I should go for it?”

Jamie scowled at the mention of Peter’s name. “As best man, I can’t in good faith let the maid of honor go anywhere with that arsehole.” She knew her tone was bitter, but she didn’t care. There was no reason to try and hide how she really felt. “He’s one of the most horrid men I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting in my life. I’d be willing to bet you’d be better off with nearly any other man here. Do yourself a favor, love. Stay far away from Peter fuckin’ Quint.”

Rebecca looked startled by the reply, but she quickly recovered and nodded. “Well, that’s certainly an inside scoop, alright.” She let out a playful laugh before fixing Jamie with a smile. “Thank you, though. I really appreciate it. I tend to have awful taste in men, so I’ll definitely take your advice on this one.”

Jamie returned the smile before her gaze drifted out over the crowd again. It landed on a guy she vaguely recognized; one of Eddie’s cousins who had been out to London a few times to visit. From what she remembered, he was rather shy, but a nice enough guy with a good sense of humor and a joyful laugh.

“That one over there; Sean, I think his name is. He’s one of Eddie’s cousins, a decent bloke. Might want to give that a try.”

Rebecca scanned the guy up and down before her face lit up with a smile, apparently liking what she saw. “I think I will, thanks for the tip.” She winked at Jamie as she stood up and gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze before making her way over to where Sean was standing.

Jamie smiled as she watched her go, glad that she’d helped at least one woman avoid the nightmare that was Peter Quint. She grabbed her glass from the nearby table and lifted it to her lips to reward herself with a celebratory sip for a job well done. With Rebecca otherwise occupied, she let her gaze drift back over to Dani. She was surprised to find the bride looking over at her, watching her, with an expression that was hard to read.

Jamie offered a tight smile, a congratulatory raise of her glass. A small smile flickered across Dani’s lips, her expression almost sad before she turned away and hid her face against Eddie’s chest. Jamie felt something in her own chest tighten, but she ignored it as she drained the rest of the amber liquid from her glass and then lifted her camera.

* * *

The weeks following the wedding were pure torture. The first two had been particularly exhausting due to many sleepless nights. Every time Jamie either allowed her mind to wander or closed her eyes, she was assaulted with thoughts of Eddie and Dani on their honeymoon. Unfortunately, the thoughts were often accompanied by very unwanted visuals, hence the lack of sleep and her perpetual frown.

Not long after the return from their trip, Eddie invited Jamie over to their place for dinner. Jamie had considered the offer because she knew Dani’s smile would be particularly joyous after two weeks in a tropical location with her new husband. But the thought of sitting through hours of stories and photos from their trip made Jamie’s stomach turn. She decided to wait another week or two for them to meet with other friends and family and get the sharing out of their system.

And then one Wednesday evening her phone began to ring. She answered the call as she half-attended to a game show on TV.

“Hello?”

“Jamie, hi!” Eddie enthused in his usual manner. “How’ve you been?”

“Not too bad,” Jamie lied with a chuckle at his enthusiasm, “And yourself?”

“Great! Honestly so great. But I’ve missed you. You need to come by for dinner sometime soon! Or we should go grab drinks after work one night.”

“Drinks sound good,” she replied, knowing that was an activity Dani was rarely involved in and she would need another week or so until she could trust her heart to function normally around Dani again.

“Great, we’ll have to set something up,” Eddie said, his smile apparent in his voice. “Listen, I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?” Jamie repeated as she began to puzzle over where this was going.

“Yeah, so you know how we had that great plan to have people take pictures during the ceremony and reception so we didn’t have to pay for the photographer the whole night? Well, it turns out people didn’t end up taking that many photos. And the ones we got back are practically unusable. Really blurry or zoomed too close or too far…honestly, it would be funny if we didn’t have almost a total lack of photos from our wedding.”

“That’s a shame, mate. I’m sorry to hear that,” Jamie apologized as she wondered where this favor came in. She had a feeling she knew where it was going and she was already trying to come up with excuses.

“But I remembered that you were taking tons of pictures that day. And as my most dependable friend, I know yours will actually be of good quality. So I was hoping we could take a look at yours.’’

“Yeah, about that…” Jamie started, wondering which lie she should go with.

“I’m sure you know my mom is already hounding me for pictures. Won’t stop calling about them, actually. So I asked Dani if she could stop by your place on her way home from work to pick them up.”

“What?” Jamie asked as she gripped the handset tightly and glanced over at the clock.

“I’m sorry I didn’t give you more of a heads up, I’ve been slammed with work calls all day. But if you have plans or anything like that, she won’t stay long. She’s just gonna pick up whatever you have so we can take a look at it.”

“Eddie, I don’t know, tonight’s really not good for me,” Jamie said as she ran a hand through her hair, trying to buy some time to think of a way out of this.

“Jamie, please. It would mean so much to us. You’d really be helping us out.”

Jamie sighed. If that was true, there was no way she’d be able to say no to Dani’s hopeful blue eyes when she showed up on her doorstep. It was such a simple request, it would be weird to refuse it. “Alright, fine.”

“Great, thank you so much!” Eddie let out a relieved sigh. “Oh, and Jamie…please be nice.”

“I’m always nice,” Jamie replied defensively, a frown appearing on her face.

“You know what I mean…be friendly,” he pleaded, a hint of concern in his voice.

She wanted to be offended that he had the nerve to call her unfriendly after all the time she spent around him and Dani – after all the effort she put into controlling her emotions so that she _could_ spend time around him and Dani. But she couldn’t pretend to be ignorant about why he was making the request when she knew her attitude toward Dani could best be described as ‘indifferent’.

“Yeah, alright,” Jamie conceded with a sigh. She rubbed her forehead as her eyes slipped closed. If Eddie only knew just how friendly she wanted to be with his wife.

“Thank you, Jamie,” he said with genuine appreciation in his voice. “I’m sure she’ll be there soon.”

Jamie hung up the phone and simply stared at the wall. She’d really gotten herself into quite a mess this time and she needed to figure out how to fix it. Just as she stood up to try to quell her nervous energy by doing _something_ , there was a knock at the door.

Jamie closed her eyes and willed it to be the postman, or a neighbor, or anyone else as she cautiously made her way towards the front door.

“Hi!” Dani greeted her with a bright smile that quickly faded at the queasy look on Jamie’s face. “Did…did Eddie tell you I was stopping by?”

“Yeah, he uh…I just got off the phone with him,” Jamie explained. Her gaze dropped down to the box in Dani’s hands.

“I’m sorry he didn’t give you more of a heads up,” Dani apologized with a slight frown before she noticed where Jamie’s gaze was focused. “Oh, I brought you a slice of strawberry lemon cake from the bakery up the road. I just wanted to do something to say thank you for helping us out. Eddie’s really eager to get those pictures.”

Jamie might have been amused by Dani’s apparent lack of interest in the photos if the mere mention of them didn’t send her into a state of panic. “Right, the pictures,” she said as she accepted the box Dani thrust into her hands. The eager gesture caused her to take a step back in surprise, which Dani seemed to interpret as an invitation to enter her small flat.

Jamie bit her lip to keep from cursing because she’d wanted to come up with an excuse to stop the other woman from even entering. “About that, I’ve been looking for them, but I can’t seem to find them.”

She watched as Dani began to wander around the space and Jamie realized it was the first time she had ever been inside her flat. She felt far too on display as Dani looked eagerly at her surroundings.

“I think I might have thrown them out actually. Accidentally, of course. But I just can’t find them, so I’m thinking that I must have tossed them with the remains of my take away from last night,” Jamie continued to ramble, hoping Dani would buy the excuse.

“Dani and Eddie’s wedding,” Dani read out loud as her fingers ran along the top of a small box, “Good news, I think I found them,” she called out with a playful grin.

Jamie’s eyes slipped closed and she wished the ground would open up and she could disappear. Or perhaps, that she could teleport to another country. Or planet. Or be cursed with invisibility; that would be very welcome right about now.

“Look, Dani…” she began as she tried to figure out how to explain; as if any combination of words could properly prepare Dani for what she was about to discover.

“Oh wow,” Dani exhaled as she started flipping through the photographs. “Jamie, these are incredible. You’re really talented.”

The compliment caused warmth to spread throughout her chest. For once, Jamie didn’t try to push the feeling aside. She knew the temporary moment of happiness would soon be crushed by absolute despair. She set the cake box on a nearby table and cautiously took a step closer so she could see the pictures Dani was sifting through.

Dani continued to look through the pictures of the ceremony. “Geez, you really went through a lot of film. I think I can put together a flipbook to recreate my walk down the aisle. Guess we didn’t need a videographer after all.” She glanced up with a playful smirk, but was met only by a desolate stare.

Dani returned her attention to the photos. “I really hope you got some of that gorgeous tunnel. That was…it was just so magical, Jamie. I think it was the highlight of the wedding.” She glanced up again, a small smile on her lips as if hoping the compliment would be enough to crack through Jamie’s cold exterior.

“Apart from the actual ‘getting married’ part, of course,” Jamie pointed out. As happy as Dani’s comment made her, she wasn’t about to let herself feel hopeful that her silly little surprise overshadowed the entire wedding.

Something almost resembling guilt flashed in Dani’s eyes before she dropped her gaze back to the pictures. “Right, yeah, of course,” she agreed as she nodded along. “Gosh, there are so many photos in here. Eddie’s gonna be thrilled.”

Jamie felt the dread brewing in her stomach begin to spread the longer she waited for the moment of realization. Her shoulders were tight and her back stiff as she watched Dani flip through picture after picture.

Dani opened her mouth, the little smile on her face indicating it was going to be another teasing comment, but then nothing came out. The smile faded and her gaze slowly raised to meet Jamie’s. She knew.

“They’re all of me,” she whispered. Confusion clouded her blue eyes as she looked to Jamie for an explanation.

“Yeah, I, uh, I think the man at the shop must have slipped in doubles when I went to get the pictures developed, because I really didn’t take that many. And I think they lost a bunch of the film too…because there were other photos as well. A lot more than just ones of you. But that’s all that came back...” Jamie realized she was rambling and cut herself off. From the look on Dani’s face it was clear she wasn’t buying any of Jamie’s nervous excuses.

“But…you don’t even like me,” Dani protested softly. “In fact, I always thought you hated me.” Her gaze still reflected her complete lack of understanding for the situation at hand.

Jamie let out a low chuckle as she rubbed a hand over her face. She could take this opportunity to tell Dani just how wrong she was. But she was reluctant to drop her barriers even the slightest bit; afraid that she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from spilling every tightly guarded secret she’d ever kept from Dani. She knew her friendship with Eddie, and by association Dani, was already at risk. They might not talk to her again after tonight. But she wouldn’t add to her remorse by pouring her heart out to Dani and overwhelm the poor woman even more with an unwanted confession of love.

Instead, she reinforced the barriers around her heart as best she could and straightened up. “Take whatever you want, just don’t…show them around too much,” Jamie asked. She could already picture the shocked and mocking reactions from Dani and Eddie’s family and friends if they saw all of the photos. All of the beautifully captured, but creepy, stalkerish photos she’d taken that night.

“I…I just don’t understand…” Dani began, but the brunette was already backing away. She couldn’t bear to hear whatever Dani was about to say; whether it was a gently delivered rejection or an outraged admonishment for her actions.

“It’s nothing,” she said as she continued to move towards the door. “I actually realized I have a thing to go to, so I just need to…but you can lock up, yeah?”

“Jamie,” Dani called after her, her voice still soft and full of questions.

Jamie paused, one hand on the door as she glanced back at Dani. She figured she could offer at least one explanation.

“I don’t hate you. Couldn’t if I tried – and believe me, I tried. It’s a self-preservation thing, you see.” She swallowed down the rest of the words that wanted to escape. She met puzzled blue eyes one last time, perhaps for the last time, and offered a sad smile before pulling the front door open and slipping out into the night.

* * *

Hours passed before Jamie allowed herself to return to her flat. There was more than a hint of concern over what she’d find when she came back – her things ransacked in a quest for more evidence of her obsession, Eddie waiting to tell her off, or most frightening of all, Dani still standing there with those wide, confused eyes searching for answers.

Fortunately, she returned to find everything just as she’d left it. Her apartment was dark and empty. She walked over to the box on her desk; the top had been carefully replaced, but she opened it to flip through the pictures. She didn’t think any were missing, but it was hard to tell given the sheer volume of photographs that she’d taken. She wasn’t surprised Dani had left the creepy collection behind; in fact, she’d probably quickly fled from the flat only moments after Jamie.

Over the next two days, Jamie found herself in a perpetual state of anxiety and dread; she was constantly waiting for the fallout from Dani’s realization. Every time the phone rang, she was certain it was Eddie. Every knock on her door was surely him coming by to demand answers. But it was always someone else and her worry would only momentarily abate.

The third day after the ‘incident’ was when Jamie began to worry that maybe there would only be silence. Perhaps Dani had told Eddie and they’d already made the decision to cut her out of their lives. Blocked her number, changed their locks so her spare key would no longer work. And she would deserve it, she thought to herself, she would deserve that much for lying to them for years.

Only a day after those thoughts began to take hold, a phone call put all her worries to rest. Eddie’s cheerful voice greeted her as he invited her out to the pub for a drink to watch the game. Jamie accepted, although she was still nervous that perhaps it was all a ploy to get her out of her flat so he could confront her. She went anyway, figuring if a confrontation was what Eddie wanted, she might as well get it over with so she could stop worrying.

However, Jamie quickly realized Eddie didn’t have a clue about what had happened a few days earlier. The topic of wedding pictures didn’t even come up until an offhand comment about it being a shame they’d accidentally been tossed out. He’d teased her for her carelessness, saying it was a good thing it was only the photos she’d thrown away and not the wedding rings before the ceremony. Jamie had laughed along with his good-natured ribbing while silently trying to figure out why Dani hadn’t told him. She hadn’t asked Dani to keep it from him – would never ask her to keep a secret from her husband. Yet, it seemed that was exactly what Dani had done.

Jamie wanted to take comfort in the fact that Eddie didn’t know about her feelings for Dani and it seemed she wasn’t at risk of losing her friend…at least for the time being. But she knew that she couldn’t just pretend things were the same as before. She couldn’t act as if Dani hadn’t discovered this huge secret. And she couldn’t, wouldn’t, let Dani bear the weight of it alone either.

Dani deserved better. She hadn’t asked to stumble upon the feelings Jamie had tried to keep hidden for years. At the very least, she deserved an explanation. Jamie had to give her at least that much and then she’d leave it up to Dani to decide if she wanted to tell Eddie, ignore it completely, or have Jamie quietly slip out of their lives forever.

Even after she settled on the decision to come clean to Dani, it took Jamie a few days to build up to actually doing it. A few days of cautiously taking down the walls surrounding her heart brick by brick. If she was going to do this and really be honest with Dani, then she needed to let herself feel everything. Dani deserved more than a cold apology and a half-formed, guarded explanation.

It was a rather cold Thursday evening when Jamie finally worked up the courage to head over to the O’Mara’s house. After a final deep breath to steel her resolve, she stepped up to the front door and raised her hand to knock. Before her fist even hit the door, it was abruptly yanked back, taking Jamie by surprise.

“Jesus!” She yelped at the same time Dani muttered the same expression; the blonde’s hand flying to her chest over her racing heart.

“Sorry,” Jamie apologized, “Was just about to knock.”

“Yeah, no, I figured that,” Dani said as she steadied her breathing. “I didn’t mean to startle you, I was about to take out the trash.” She lifted the bag in her hand and Jamie nodded.

“Eddie not gonna help with that?” Jamie asked, wondering why her friend was making his wife bundle up to face the cold and take the trash to the bin on the curb.

“Didn’t expect you to have such 1950’s expectations of which chores women are allowed to help with,” Dani teased, a small smile quirking at her lips. “Eddie’s on a work call, so I figured a dainty little housewife such as myself could handle the dirty work for one evening.”

Jamie felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. “That’s not what I meant. I know you’re more than capable of doing that, I was just wondering is all.”

“Relax, I’m just teasing you,” Dani replied, but even as she said the words her expression began to fade into one of confusion. “What are you doing here? Are you here to see Eddie?”

“Uh, no. I was hoping to talk with you, actually,” Jamie explained as her brief bout of embarrassment was swept away by nerves. “But I don’t want to interrupt,” she glanced down at the trash bag in Dani’s hand.

“Yes, how dare you interrupt my chores,” Dani teased, though the playful smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

They walked in silence to the curb and Jamie lifted the lid to the bin while Dani tossed the bag inside. They only managed a few steps back up the walk when Jamie turned to face her, stopping them both in their tracks.

“Look, Dani. I came by because I wanted to apologize for what happened last week. You weren’t ever supposed to see those pictures. No one was. No one was ever supposed to know about…” she trailed off, unable to find the words as she gave a vague gesture with her hand before running it through her hair. “Especially you.”

Dani’s brow furrowed slightly, “Why especially not me?”

Jamie shoved her hands in her coat pockets as she gave a shrug. “It didn’t seem fair you should be burdened with something like that. You never asked for me to…develop feelings.” Jamie clenched her jaw, finding it near impossible to properly express her thoughts after years of keeping them buried.

“How long have you…had feelings for me?” Dani asked softly as she stared into troubled green eyes. Jamie was relieved to see there didn’t seem to be any anger in Dani’s gaze, just curiosity and perhaps a trace of sadness.

The temptation to dodge the question or avoid the truth was strong, but Jamie wouldn’t allow herself to give in to it. After years of lying and hiding, now was the time to come clean.

“Reckon since the day I met you,” Jamie admitted.

Dani shook her head, as if refusing to accept the answer. “But…why are you always so cold to me? I honestly thought you couldn’t stand me. That you thought I wasn’t good enough for Eddie or something.”

A humorless chuckle escaped Jamie at the last comment. “It definitely wasn’t that,” she replied as she willed herself to hold Dani’s gaze instead of staring at the ground. “I’m sorry if the way I acted towards you was confusing or upsetting. I know it wasn’t exactly fair to you. But I…god, Dani. It was the only way I could be around you, and Eddie too. It seems like everything you do and say makes me fall a little harder…and I know that’s my problem, not yours. But if I tried to be nice and get to know you, be friends even, then eventually I wouldn’t be able to keep my feelings to myself. And the last thing I wanted was to burden you and Eddie with my stupid little crush. Well, it’s not so little. And that’s kind of the problem.”

Jamie allowed her gaze to drop to the ground for a moment. Dani’s gaze was entirely too patient and confused and piercing; it felt as if she was trying to see right through Jamie to the heart she’d kept hidden all this time. She drew a deep breath in through her nose and lifted her head.

“I tried to keep my distance…physically at first, but that didn’t work because I missed you too much. But I had to separate myself from my feelings when I was around you. So I put up these…walls, I guess. Tried to keep my emotions hidden where no one would ever see them. And I hoped that over time they would go away, but they didn’t. Seemed to get even stronger, in fact.”

“So you were just never going to tell me, or anyone, ever?” Dani questioned, her expression bordering on incredulous.

Jamie nodded, “That was the plan, yeah. I hoped one day maybe I’d find someone else and I didn’t have to keep pining after you from afar. But until that day, I planned to just keep on doing what I was doing. Worked well enough, I suppose. You know, except for the crushing agony that goes along with being hopelessly in love with your friend’s wife.”

Dani was shaking her head again and this time when she met Jamie’s gaze, the confusion was gone, replaced with pure frustration.

“You should have told me,” she insisted as she looked at Jamie. “I thought you hated me!”

“Yeah, I know. And I’m sorry about that,” Jamie apologized; she wondered how many times Dani would keep circling back to the same thing. However, Dani cut her off before she could try to explain again.

“No, you don’t understand,” Dani insisted, her eyes bright with a determination Jamie had never seen before. “For years I thought you hated me, Jamie, and it killed me because I…I was so drawn to you. I wanted so desperately to get to know you; to get to know the version of you that you are around Eddie. The version of you that I saw those first few weeks you came into my life before you retreated behind those walls. Because I kinda fell for that version of Jamie and I didn’t know what to do!”

Jamie’s eyes widened as her heart began hammering away in her chest. “You…you what?” She questioned softly, almost afraid to ask because she was certain she’d misheard Dani.

“Yeah, I thought you were amazing and I was so excited to spend time with you and get to know you better…but then you were so cold and never wanted to be around me. So, I thought…I don’t know, I thought you hated me. Or that you could tell I liked you and you were freaked out so you didn’t want to be near me.”

Dani paused and took a shaky breath. There were tears pooling in her eyes but Jamie resisted the urge to reach out to cup her face, prepared to wipe them away the second they dared to spill down cheeks flushed pink from the cold. It wasn’t her place – despite the confession slipping from Dani’s lips, she wasn’t hers.

When she spoke again, Dani’s voice was quiet. “For years, I thought that I might be a…” she trailed off, eyes flicking to Jamie’s for some assurance Jamie knew what she was trying to say. Although she would have liked a more explicit statement to really believe it, she gave a brief nod so Dani could continue. “I felt like I never really loved Eddie the way he loved me. But I’d never really felt something for a woman before, until…” she trailed off again, blue eyes glancing back at Jamie.

Jamie was so desperate for Dani to just finish her damn thoughts. But she wanted her to keep talking, afraid that pushing Dani to complete a thought would cause her to lose her nerve to continue.

“But then you backed away and didn’t want to be around me. And I just, well, I guess I just figured that if I stayed with Eddie, at least I knew I had someone who loved me. Someone who wanted to be with me. And Eddie,” she sighed, guilt seeping into her expression before she dropped her head. “He’s such a good guy. When he proposed, I figured that maybe spending my life with him wouldn’t be so bad. We have so much history and we have fun together. We care about each other. And if I didn’t love him the way he loves me…well, maybe it didn’t really matter because when I met someone I thought I might be able to love in that way, she didn’t seem to want me, and so I thought that was a sign that I should just stay with Eddie.”

Jamie squeezed her eyes shut as she realized what an absolute idiot she’d been. She couldn’t bear to look at Dani’s sad eyes anymore; her own guilt and misery were piling up entirely too high as it was. She kept her eyes closed as she offered her next apology. “I’m so sorry, Dani. I didn’t realize – I thought by keeping everything to myself, I was doing you a favor. I had no idea I was causing you so much pain. That’s the last thing I wanted. I kept myself away to try to keep you from ever feeling pain because of me…I just wanted you to be happy. You and Eddie both.”

The unmistakable sensation of someone stepping into her personal space caused Jamie’s eyes to flutter open. Dani was standing right in front of her, a timid smile on her face as she slipped a hand into her coat pocket to tangle with the hand buried in there. She gently leaned in to rest her forehead against Jamie’s.

“It sounds like we both did some pretty dumb things,” she admitted softly. “Things that we wish we could take back. You shouldn’t have pulled away and tried to hide and I shouldn’t have followed along with Eddie’s plans knowing I couldn’t love him the way he deserves to be loved.”

Jamie’s breath was coming out in shallow gasps due to Dani’s closeness, the feel of her chilled hand wrapped around Jamie’s, and her forehead pressed gently against her own.

Dani leaned back, allowing Jamie to take slightly deeper breaths with the added space between them. “The flower tunnel…at the wedding. Was that for me?”

Jamie was surprised by the unexpected question and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. As opposed to her previous chuckles throughout the evening, this one actually reflected genuine amusement. “Of course it was,” she murmured with an affectionate smile on her face. “Wasn’t exactly Eddie I was trying to impress with the hours and hours I spent building that thing. Just hoped it would make you smile.”

Dani’s grin lit up her face as leaned in again, her face so close to Jamie’s. “I loved it Jamie. It was incredible, and I…I think I love _you_. At least, the version of you that you’ve been hiding from me. The version that cares so much about my happiness that she makes herself miserable trying to keep me happy and spends weeks making a flower tunnel just to make me smile. I think I’ve already kinda fallen for that Jamie.”

Jamie knew her grin was blinding as she squeezed Dani’s hand in her pocket and brought her other hand up to gently caress her cheek, trying to convince herself this was all really happening. “I _know_ I’ve already fallen for you…though I think you know that by now.”

“Have a couple hundred photos of me to prove it,” Dani teased as her nose brushed against Jamie’s. After a long moment of exchanging excited smiles, Dani pulled back to properly look into Jamie’s eyes. “So…what now?”

Jamie saw the apprehension that entered Dani’s expression and felt her own good mood slip a bit. However, she couldn’t fault Dani for asking because it was an incredibly important question that they needed to address. Her thumb stroked over the back of Dani’s hand as she thought through the options.

Eventually, she met Dani’s worried gaze. “Well, I think we have a few different ways we could handle this. First would be that we both walk away from this knowing how we feel and taking comfort in that…and we let that be enough. We go back to our lives as they were before. I’ll try to be less distant, but there will of course be new barriers that have to be made to keep things as they are.”

Dani nodded, though from her expression, Jamie could tell she wasn’t sold on the first option.

“Second option, is that I just…give you space. You and Eddie both. I’m the one who caused this whole mess and I can try to fix it by removing myself from the equation. Let you and Eddie get back to your life without the added complication of having me in.”

Dani shook her head this time, “I don’t like the second option. That’s a ‘no’ for me. Next.”

Jamie chuckled and gave Dani’s hand a little squeeze. “Fair enough. There’s the third option then, and honestly, this one may be the hardest.”

Dani looked concerned but she gave a nod for Jamie to continue.

“Third option would be that you have a talk with Eddie; or _we_ have a talk with him. He would probably prefer it coming from you, but I’m happy to do whatever you want. We come clean to him, tell him what we’ve discovered tonight and you…” Jamie trailed off, having a hard time finding the right words to complete the thought. ‘Leave him’ sounded too much like a command; ‘divorce him’ was even worse. “Separate,” Jamie said with a quiet sigh. “And then, after that, if you decide that you really do love me, the version of me that’s gonna stop hiding from you, then I’ll be here. In whatever way you need me – friend, confidant…girlfriend.”

Dani who had been nodding along to the idea, albeit with a nervous expression, now smirked at Jamie. “You think I’m going to leave my husband just to be your friend?”

Jamie chuckled as she shifted closer to Dani. “Just saying, I’ll be whatever you want me to be.”

Dani nodded and withdrew her hand from Jamie’s but only so she could wrap her in a tight hug. “I’m scared of hurting Eddie. And of losing him,” she whispered.

“Me too,” Jamie admitted.

“But I’m more scared of not trying…whatever this is with you,” Dani said as she hugged Jamie tighter.

“Me too,” Jamie repeated with a small smile.

Dani pulled back, but kept her hands on Jamie’s arms as she looked at her. “Maybe we can meet up for coffee tomorrow and start trying to figure out the best way to do all this?”

Jamie nodded at that, “Sounds good. I’ll give you a call in the morning.”

Dani smiled and stepped back, she looked ready to turn towards the house but then surprised Jamie with another tight hug.

“Would you mind telling me again?” Dani whispered, “Just one more time before I go inside.”

“Tell you what?” Jamie asked. She was certain she would do whatever Dani wanted, she just needed to know what that was.

“How you feel about me,” Dani prompted as she nuzzled against Jamie’s cheek.

Jamie felt her heart racing again, still not quite able to believe that Dani _wanted_ to hear it after all this time of hiding it from her. “I love you, Dani,” she murmured as she turned to place a gentle kiss in her hair. “I’m absolutely, ridiculously, in love with you.”

She could feel Dani’s grin against her cheek, “I love you too, Jamie,” she whispered. She pulled away with a gleeful smile on her face. “I think anyway,” she teased with a playful wink as she began backing up the front walk. “Don’t be a jerk anymore and we’ll see.”

Jamie laughed and gave her a salute. She watched as Dani headed back into the house, but waited until the door was safely shut behind her before she turned to leave. A wide, excited grin remained firmly in place the entire way home.

Jamie knew there would be guilt over hurting Eddie. There would be sadness and plenty of difficult moments in the days ahead. But for tonight, she would allow herself to simply reflect on everything that had just happened and enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to give me honest feedback. If you didn't like it, tell me. If you can think of ways to make it better, tell me and maybe I'll take another stab at writing this pairing/storyline. And if you want to anonymously send me your complaints or suggestions, feel free to do so over on tumblr (shananigans402.tumblr.com)
> 
> Only one chapter left! And I kinda love the last chapter (although I haven't edited it yet so we'll see how I feel when I do haha). 
> 
> In my opinion, I've saved the best for last because in the next chapter we tackle the Harry, Karen, Mia storyline, featuring Eddie as Emma Thompson, Dani as Alan Rickman, and Jamie as the slutty secretary. Perfect casting, no?


	7. Harry, Karen, and Mia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, friends. The last chapter (for now). All 13,000 words of it. 
> 
> First of all, I want to thank everyone who left such kind comments on the last chapter. I wasn't sure about it during editing, but now I'm back to feeling as happy with it as I did when I was writing. And so many requests to a follow up for it! I will definitely have to do that at some point, so stay tuned. Apparently this little series isn't quite done yet!
> 
> But as far as the main chapters/storylines go, I feel like it’s only fitting to end with one of the most crushing storylines in the movie. Let’s see if you like my take on it as much as I do. 
> 
> Warning - smut ahead (hence the rating change to this story).

Dani strode purposefully into the school. She was early, even by her own impeccable standards of punctuality. The morning bell wouldn’t ring for another hour leaving her with quite a bit of time to fill. She passed by her classroom as she headed directly to her intended destination – the teacher’s lounge.

At this time of day, the lounge would be nearly empty, save for another teacher or two who showed up early and took time for a cup of coffee while they waited for the halls to fill with the cacophony of students marking the start of yet another school day.

But most teachers wouldn’t arrive for at least another twenty or thirty minutes. The other staff, however…well, some of them had an earlier set of work hours requiring them to start their work before the first bell of the day.

Dani paused outside the door of the teacher’s lounge to smooth her skirt and fix her hair before turning the knob and striding confidently into the room. She avoided the temptation to glance around to see who else might be in the lounge as she maintained an air of casual indifference and headed directly for the coffee maker.

She realized she was definitely one of the first people to arrive as there wasn’t even a fresh pot of coffee yet. The realization didn’t bother her. The coffee was only a distraction anyhow; an excuse to be in the lounge at this time of day. Actually making the coffee was just as good of an excuse, so she reached for the coffee pot and began to fill it with water from the tap.

“Morning, Poppins.”

The simple greeting caused Dani’s heart to start racing and her hand trembled only slightly; hardly noticeable as all. She tightened her grip on the coffee pot before she could drop it and really cause a scene.

“Good morning, Jamie,” she returned the greeting with a bright smile, glancing over her shoulder as the school’s gardener began making her way towards her.

“Not to be rude, but perhaps I should take over the coffee-making responsibilities before you send half the staff home sick, yeah?” A playful smirk formed on Jamie’s face as she reached the kitchenette that took up one wall of the lounge and leaned against the counter only a few feet away from Dani.

Dani wanted to be bothered by the jab about her coffee-making skills, but only a high-pitched, slightly nervous laugh escaped her. “I don’t think you can actually get food poisoning from coffee, you know.”

“Let’s not risk it,” Jamie shot back as she stepped closer and held her hands out expectantly for the now full coffee pot.

Dani was only too happy to relinquish control of the task. Her happiness nearly doubled when Jamie’s hands gently brushed against her own while taking the glass carafe from her.

A brief smile, green eyes that darted quickly down to her lips, and then Jamie was facing away from her as she set to work preparing the coffee.

The gardener’s presence as well as her proximity were wreaking havoc on Dani’s ability to stay calm and mentally composed. She figured she should be used to it by now, it was the same effect Jamie had on her since she was first hired to tend the gardens and grounds around the school nearly three months ago.

“I thought you Brits were supposed to be all about tea,” Dani said in an effort to make conversation to distract from the sound of her heart pounding in her chest. “Who knew you could make coffee too?”

Jamie smiled as she glanced over at Dani. “That sounds an awful lot like a stereotype. I’d expect better from a teacher like yourself.”

Dani felt an embarrassed blush spread across her face and opened her mouth to apologize before she was cut off by a chuckle from Jamie, who looked amused by her flustered reaction.

“I’m just messing with you. Honestly, I’d take tea over coffee any day of the week. But unfortunately, being in America, it’s been damn near impossible to find a proper brew. So, I’ve adapted.”

Dani gave a soft nod as she considered that. “You could always make tea here. There are mugs in the cabinets and the microwave is over there. It wouldn’t be too hard.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just suggest that I could make a proper cuppa using a microwave,” Jamie teased as she pushed the ‘brew’ button on the machine. She turned so she was facing Dani, her hip resting against the counter.

“I’m just saying, it could work,” Dani mumbled, trying to stave off a fresh round of embarrassment by defending her suggestion. “Hot water is hot water.”

Jamie watched her for a moment before chuckling to herself and shaking her head. “Then again, I suppose you can get away with suggesting tea be made using a microwave when you’re that pretty.”

Dani felt her entire body flush – though not from embarrassment. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Maybe a bit too pretty,” Jamie replied as she held Dani’s hopeful gaze. Her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip and Dani eagerly tracked the movement with her eyes.

They’d had moments like this before. Moments where Dani was sure the captivating gardener was going to make a move – hold her hand, kiss her, drag her off to the nearest supply closet. However, nothing of the sort had ever happened. It always ended the same way.

She watched as Jamie’s gaze dropped down to her left hand. Down to the wedding ring that they both knew was there. Just that simple glance served as a reminder of why things had never progressed past harmless flirting.

Jamie took a step back; a smile that wasn’t quite genuine forced to her lips as she gave a curt nod. “Tell me how that coffee turns out, yeah?”

Dani nodded, but Jamie was already halfway turned around to leave the room. She let out a sigh as she leaned heavily against the counter and ran a hand through her hair.

She lifted her left hand out in front of her, looking at the way the ring caught the light. It should be a joyful reminder of the man who put it there. Eddie. Her childhood best friend and supposedly the love of her life. However, ever since it had appeared on her finger four years ago, it felt more like a shackle that kept her bound to something she wasn’t sure she ever really wanted to be involved in. She dropped her hand to her side, wincing as the ring clacked against the cabinet, emitting a harsh metallic sound.

Just in a rut, she told herself as she turned to take down a mug from the overhead cabinet. That’s all it was. One of those ruts that were an unavoidable consequence of any relationship. However, she couldn’t help but think about how this particular rut seemed to be stretching on for years. Started before their wedding even. And if she ever truly stopped to consider it, she knew she would find it started the day her relationship with Eddie first changed from platonic to romantic. One hell of a rut.

* * *

“Are you going to that?”

Dani glanced over, a small smile already forming at the familiar voice. “Yeah, of course,” she replied with a nod as she returned her attention to the flier for the annual Christmas party that she was posting on the bulletin board in the teacher’s lounge. “You’re going too, right?”

“Haven’t made up my mind yet…” Jamie answered honestly as she slipped her hands into the pockets of her coveralls. “But if you’re going, I think I just might.”

A flattered grin spread across Dani’s face. “It’ll be a lot of fun,” she encouraged as she finished stapling the flier and stepped back. “It’s just hosted here at the school, but a lot of the teachers go all out with decorating the cafeteria. And there’s always a ton of amazing baked goods, and Christmas music, and lots of alcohol, of course – I mean, the start of two weeks of winter break, no students around? Just try and stop us all from getting drunk.”

Jamie laughed at the explanation, “Alright, I’m sold. When is it?”

“Wednesday evening. The kids have a half-day and the rest of us go home and track down as much alcohol as we can before heading back for the party.”

“So, it’s just teachers and staff then?” Jamie asked as she glanced back at the flier on the board.

Dani frowned at the question, wondering why Jamie was asking. “Uh, no. People usually bring spouses or partners. No kids though.”

Jamie nodded thoughtfully. She looked almost disappointed, although Dani knew she could be reading that wrong.

“So, if you want to bring your boyfriend or whoever, feel free.” She couldn’t ignore the bad taste the words left in her mouth as she pictured Jamie showing up to the party with someone hanging all over her.

“I’m quite single, I’m afraid,” Jamie replied with a chuckle before her gaze shifted over to meet Dani’s. “Though if I wasn’t, it definitely wouldn’t be a boyfriend I’d be bringing.”

“Oh,” Dani replied, hoping she didn’t look as excited as she felt at the dual revelation that Jamie was single and not all that interested in men. She quickly tried to cover her reaction by continuing to make conversation, “That’s totally fine. Quite a few teachers are single too, so a lot of people come to this thing alone.”

Jamie nodded as her gaze traveled the all-too-familiar path down to Dani’s left hand. “What about you? You bringing your husband?”

Dani only barely managed to hold in the sigh that wanted to escape as she looked down at her hand. “Yeah,” she replied, hearing the disappointment that laced her own words, “He usually comes to these things.” She glanced up to see Jamie nodded dejectedly and rushed to try and reassure her before the gardener could change her mind about coming. “But I don’t stay by his side all night or anything. I’m more interested in talking to friends and getting to see everyone. He usually just finds some of the other husbands he knows and sits in a corner talking business all night.”

Jamie quirked an eyebrow as a smirk played on her lips. She seemed to be considering something as she stepped closer, which was hard to do given how close they’d already been standing. “So I might be able to steal you away for a bit, then? Just for a chat, of course.”

Dani’s breathing turned shallow due to their proximity and the way Jamie’s gaze was searching her face as if waiting to see if she would step back to put some distance between them. She didn’t. “You could definitely steal me away…for a chat.” The last part tumbled out in a rush as she realized how bad it could sound if she left that out.

Jamie’s smirk grew as she held Dani’s gaze. “Guess that’s the good thing about this party being held at the school. Plenty of dark, empty rooms…perfect for having private little chats away from prying eyes.”

Dani wasn’t sure if she was even breathing at all anymore given how lightheaded she felt. “Y-yeah,” she agreed with a nod, not entirely sure what she was agreeing with. The only thing she could focus on was that ‘chat’ didn’t seem to be the right word for whatever Jamie was suggesting.

The smug smirk on Jamie’s lips remained in place as she finally took a step back, allowing Dani to start breathing properly again. “Looking forward to it,” she said with a wink before she turned and sauntered out of the teacher’s lounge.

* * *

Dani glanced at her watch and cursed. She’d completely lost track of time while trying to finish up grading the last assignment before break so she wouldn’t have to do it during the half day tomorrow, or worse, during the actual winter break. She hurried toward her car; one of very few left in the parking lot. The sun had already set making it seem much later than 5 o’clock and consequently making her feel much later than she actually was.

“You alright there, Poppins?”

If it had been anyone else, any other voice, Dani would have shouted a quick ‘I’m fine’ and continued on her way, not even slowing her stride. But this particular voice caused her to stop, only a couple feet away from the car she’d been so desperate to get to, and glance around.

Jamie walked over with a concerned furrow of her brow and an amused half-smile on her face. “A bit late to still be here. Is that why you’re running like you’re being chased by a ghost? Did you accidentally fall asleep at your desk?”

Dani laughed as she shook her head. “No, I was just trying to finish up the last of the grading so I wouldn’t have to take it home with me for winter break. I lost track of time and now I’m running late to meet my… um, Eddie at the mall to finish up the Christmas shopping.”

There was only a subtle change in Jamie’s expression that indicated she caught on to her avoidance of the word ‘husband’ in favor of just saying his name. There was a long pause, but Dani found she was no longer worried about wasting time and much more concerned with what Jamie was going to say next.

“Christmas shopping, huh?” Jamie asked with a playful smile. “What are you getting me, then?”

Dani knew it was a joke. Although she liked getting to see Jamie and talk to her during the infrequent run-ins they had around school, they certainly weren’t close enough to be on each other’s Christmas lists. However, what really caught Dani’s attention was the flirtatious edge to the question and the glint in Jamie’s eyes as she waited for a response.

“Well what, uh, what do you need?” Dani asked. She watched as Jamie strolled closer; her hands felt clammy and her face was entirely too warm despite the low temperature outside. She swallowed nervously and let out a chuckle to try to defuse the tension, “New gardening gloves? A trowel, perhaps?”

“A Christmas present shouldn’t be something I need,” Jamie replied as she closed the remaining distance between them. “It should be something I want.”

“And what do you want?” Dani asked softly, the words escaping her before she could really consider the path she was encouraging this conversation to go down. It was a risky question to ask Jamie, but she found she didn’t really care as her gaze wandered down to Jamie’s lips.

“You wanna know what I would ask Santa for?” Jamie asked as she reached a hand out, fingers gently toying with the pull tab of the zipper on Dani’s fluffy purple coat.

Dani nodded and tried to stay focused on the conversation instead of getting distracted by Jamie’s hand toying with the zipper. She had a feeling she knew what Jamie was about to say but suddenly found herself too nervous to hear it, so she decided to try to get things back on track and away from secret desires and wishes. “But keep in mind, I’m not Santa and I’m limited to what I can get at the mall.”

Jamie chuckled at the comment, but didn’t seem deterred in the least as she held Dani’s gaze. “Well in that case, I think what I most want would be for you to get something nice for yourself.”

“Oh yeah?” Dani asked, unable to keep the surprised confusion out of her voice. Of all the things she’d been expecting Jamie to say, that was not one of them.

“Yeah…perhaps something silk or lace from a lingerie store,” Jamie suggested, her dilated pupils giving away her level of arousal as she continued to fiddle with Dani’s jacket. “And then maybe, if I’ve been a really good girl this year…I’ll get to see it at the party tomorrow?” As she finished her request, her fingers gently pulled the zipper down, only opening the jacket slightly, but clearly illustrating what she hoped to be doing more of with Dani at the party.

Dani’s mouth went dry and she considered it a miracle her knees didn’t buckle with the blazing rush of heat that shot to her core. The thought of buying lingerie, getting all dolled up, and just waiting for Jamie to undress her to find her Christmas surprise was perhaps the single most erotic thought Dani had ever had in her life.

She knew Jamie was waiting for a response as she watched her closely, the smirk on her face indicating she like the flustered reaction she’d evoked. The only problem was that Dani wasn’t sure what to say. She shouldn’t even be entertaining the idea, even if her body was telling her it was more than willing to comply with Jamie’s request.

“I…I don’t think that’s the type of thing Santa usually delivers,” she finally replied, hoping her sad attempt at a joke would help to alleviate the tension so she could start to think clearly again.

“It’s a good thing I’m not asking Santa then,” Jamie replied. She seemed to take the hint that Dani needed some space to think as she took a step back. “Don’t think his is the body I’d most want to see in lingerie anyway; what with me being a lesbian and all,” she joked, a teasing smile replacing her smirk to indicate she was trying to lighten the mood as well. However, the way her eyes scanned Dani’s figure indicated just whose body she was hoping to see more of.

Dani forced out a laugh to cover how ridiculously turned on she was after the conversation with Jamie. As soon as the gardener left with a final wink, Dani turned to her car once more. The conversation played over and over in her head all the way to the mall, only pausing briefly while she offered a desperate, rushed apology to Eddie for being late. However, as soon as they moved on and began wandering around the stores, her interaction with Jamie returned to the forefront of her mind.

She did her best to focus on what Eddie was saying as they ducked in and out of stores trying to get the remaining few presents for the family and friends on their list. He was in the middle of throwing out suggestions for things he could get a couple of his work friends when they passed by Victoria’s Secret. It was a large store front and quite dark inside, but strangely inviting. Jamie’s offer turned over and over in her mind until she stopped in her tracks and looked over at Eddie.

It took him a moment to realize she was no longer walking beside him and he turned to give her a confused look.

“I just realized I need to get something for one of my friends at work too,” she explained, trying to stay as close to the truth as possible since she had never been very good at lying. “So I’m just gonna duck back in the stationary store I think, or the bookstore, while you finish your shopping and we can meet back here when we’re done?”

“Uh, sure…” Eddie said with a nod. “You sure you don’t want me to go with you? I’m worried if we split up in this crowd, it’ll be a while before we’re able to find each other again.”

“No, it’ll be fine! It’s faster this way,” Dani insisted as she began to walk backwards, as if she was actually planning on heading back to the stores she had mentioned.

“Okay, I’ll meet you back here then,” Eddie agreed, still looking vaguely disappointed as he turned and continued in the other direction.

Dani waited until he was out of sight in the crowd before she hurried into the lingerie store.

She hadn’t been looking around long before a saleswoman approached her. “Hi there, can I help you find something?”

Dani was about to decline the offer but then evaluated the overwhelming display in front of her. There were so many colors and styles and cuts. She’d been in the store a couple of times, but always wound up buying rather boring and practical bras and panties. She’d never considered buying anything special for Eddie. The thought caused her to feel a stab of guilt, but she ignored it as she turned to face the saleswoman whose nametag read ‘Cindy’.

“Hi, yeah, I was hoping to buy something nice…but I don’t know exactly where to start.”

Cindy seemed to pick up on her nerves right away and gave her a reassuring smile, “Buying something to impress the boyfriend? Or husband, perhaps?”

Dani knew she should say yes. It was close enough to the truth, anyway. But a stray thought surfaced from the back of her mind – was there a difference between what men and women found attractive? She’d never been with a woman before. In fact, she’d only been with Eddie. If she got advice on what men typically liked, maybe Jamie would hate it.

“It’s to impress a woman actually,” she admitted shyly. It was a bold correction to make and she knew it. But if Cindy reacted in disgust and asked her to leave, then Dani would take it as a sign she shouldn’t buy the lingerie and she should just forget the whole idea.

“Of course, my mistake,” Cindy said with a smile that seemed to be genuinely apologetic and not masking any discomfort or disgust. “What type of thing does your girlfriend usually like?”

Butterflies erupted in Dani’s stomach as the saleswoman referred to Jamie as her girlfriend. The question seemed so effortless and without judgment, as if it wasn’t a big deal at all that Dani was here shopping for lingerie to impress her girlfriend. To impress Jamie.

“I, uh, I’m not really sure,” Dani admitted, “This is the first time I’ve ever bought something like this.”

“Not a problem,” Cindy said with a smile intended to ease Dani’s obvious nerves. “Why don’t we start with a color and then work our way through styles?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Dani said with a nod as she glanced around. “Maybe black? No, red.” She decided as her gaze fell on the many bright red options. It felt more festive.

“Great choice, and I’m sure your girlfriend will agree,” Cindy commented with a grin as she led Dani over to a wall where many shades of red seemed to have been pulled and grouped together specifically for Christmas. “As you can see, we have plenty of options. Why don’t you look through and see which styles you like and then I can take you back to the dressing rooms and you can try some on?”

Dani nodded her agreement, grateful to have some time just to browse. She was appreciative of the help, but was getting increasingly flustered every time the saleswoman referred to Jamie as her girlfriend.

Her gaze drifted over the options in front of her. Some options were so revealing and flimsy that it caused Dani to feel flustered all over again imagining how little that would leave to the imagination. Then again, that might not be a bad thing…and she doubted that Jamie would complain. Finally, she narrowed it down to a handful of options that she wanted to try.

“Shall I put these in the dressing room for you?” Cindy asked as she approached with her best customer service smile.

“Yes please, that would be great,” Dani nodded, knowing that how they actually looked on would be the best way to judge which was the right choice.

She’d just handed them over and Cindy was only a few steps away when suddenly a familiar face drifted into the store.

“Hey hun, what are you doing in here?” Eddie asked, his face lighting up in excitement as he glanced around.

“Nothing,” Dani replied a little too quickly. Out of her periphery, she could see that Cindy had stopped walking, but she was too terrified to look over at the saleswoman. “I struck out at the other stores and just came in here for a minute to wander while I waited for you.”

Eddie’s face fell but he quickly recovered as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to lead her out of the store. “It’s okay. Trust me, after four years of marriage I know better than to expect something like this. You know I love how cute you look in cotton panties from Target.”

Dani forced a laugh as she let him lead her from the store, only too happy to get away from Cindy before the saleswoman could say anything. She could practically feel Cindy’s eyes boring into her, judging her for picking out lingerie for her ‘girlfriend’ rather than her husband.

She risked a glance over her shoulder once they were out of the store, but Cindy’s back was to her as she silently returned the items Dani had picked out to the shelves.

* * *

Dani knew it should have been a sign. She’d been so lucky that she hadn’t been caught by Eddie and he’d simply brushed the incident off as idle window-shopping. But all through the evening and the next day at school, her mind kept returning to the gardener. Jamie might be a bit disappointed if she didn’t get her Christmas present. But more importantly, Dani knew that she would be disappointed if she didn’t give Jamie her present. It was the most forward request Jamie had made in all their months of flirting and she had been fantasizing about it more than she cared to admit. The thought of not following through left her feeling frustrated, in more ways than one.

On her way home from the half-day of school, she found herself pulling into the parking lot of another lingerie store. It wasn’t the Victoria’s Secret in the mall – she was terrified to run into Cindy again – but it was a little boutique of high-end items. She had a feeling Jamie would like these even more.

An hour later, Dani headed back out to her car, bag in hand and an excited flush tinging her cheeks pink as she eagerly anticipated the upcoming evening. As soon as she arrived home, she immediately started getting ready because she knew she would be grooming and primping more than she ever had in her life – probably even more than her wedding day.

Edmund must have arrived home at some point while she was in the shower. She didn’t even realize he was in the house until he walked into the bathroom with a happy smile on his face.

“Oh hi, I didn’t realize you were home already,” she said as she looked over from where she was applying her makeup, various products scattered across the counter in front of her.

“Yeah, I wanted to make sure I had time to get a shower in before we head out to your Christmas party,” Eddie explained as he walked over to Dani, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I was kinda hoping I could catch you before you started getting ready and we could shower together…”

His hands began tugging at the tie of her robe but she gently nudged him away. “Sorry, I already showered,” she replied, hating how insincere her tone sounded.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to pick up on it. “You can always shower again, we have time.”

“Eddie no,” she said as she stepped away as he reached for her again. “I’ve already done my hair and I’m halfway done with my makeup. I don’t have time to shower and get ready again.”

“Fine,” he let out a frustrated huff. Only a moment later, a smile reappeared on his face, “Guess we can always wait until after the party.”

“Yeah,” Dani said with a nod, relieved he was going to let it go without his usual moody fit when she turned him down for sex. “Maybe,” she added, knowing that she wasn’t going to be in the mood later either. But she had time to come up with a good excuse – feeling tired or having a headache after a night of drinking were usually a reliable out.

While Eddie was in the shower, Dani slipped back into the bedroom. She wanted to make sure to get dressed while his attention was occupied and he didn’t get a look at what she’d picked up at the store – if he did, she knew there was no way she’d be able to fight his roving hands off all night.

Dani walked over to where she’d laid out her outfit for the night. She paused as she glanced at it, it looked a little off from how she’d left it. Slightly more…rumpled perhaps? She lifted her dress and found her new lingerie still safely tucked away underneath. There was no way Eddie could have seen it as he walked through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. She shook her head, clearly her nerves over the evening were just making her paranoid.

She quickly changed, not even getting a chance to properly check how the new lingerie looked on her due to her rush to get it covered up before Eddie could walk out. An hour later, Dani was finally ready and she and Edmund headed out to the Christmas party.

* * *

Dani had been at the party for two hours and so far the only word she could find to accurately describe it was boring. No, perhaps frustrating was a better word.

She’d made her usual rounds when she’d first arrived. She and Eddie greeted the couples they knew and made small talk. By the time they reached the drink table, Eddie was already off to chat with some of the other husbands. Which was fine with Dani, who continued mingling with the other teachers.

She subtly searched the busy cafeteria every time she had a chance, but there’d been no sign of Jamie. After nearly an hour, Dani was beginning to wonder if she’d changed her mind about attending the party. Although saddened by the thought, she also felt more than a hint of annoyance. It was petty, but she couldn’t help but think that it really would be Jamie’s loss if she didn’t show up tonight to get her present.

And then, over an hour after the party had started, the gardener had strolled in like she was right out on time and not the slightest bit late.

In an instant, Dani’s mood lifted. Simply seeing Jamie caused an insistent fluttering sensation to develop in her stomach. And it only got worse when she realized that now that Jamie was actually here, she had to decide whether or not she was going to follow through with her plan for the evening.

Dani had expected Jamie to make her way over not long after she arrived. No doubt she’d be eager to follow up with her after their conversation the day before. But Jamie kept her distance. Dani watched her get a drink before she made her way around to catch up with some of the other staff.

Time ticked by and Dani’s impatience only grew the longer Jamie stayed away. She was happily chatting with seemingly everyone but her, though Dani knew that was an exaggeration and Jamie had truly only talked with a handful of other people since she arrived. But still, she was talking to other people and not Dani, and it was getting increasingly more frustrating.

Even worse, Jamie clearly knew she was there because her gaze frequently drifted over to Dani. Dani knew that should probably give her an important indication of how much _she_ was watching Jamie to notice how often the other woman looked her way.

Dani had all but decided that even if Jamie did finally deem her worthy of conversation, she definitely wasn’t going to get the present she requested. Not when it seemed like Dani was lowest on her list of priorities. Hell, maybe Jamie was secretly sleeping with half the teachers and Dani was just another person to add to her list of conquests.

Just when she was about to finish off her second, or perhaps third, drink of the night and find Eddie to ask him to take her home so she could pout in private, Jamie began to head her way. Dani wanted to maintain her resolve to be at least slightly upset with Jamie, but the brunette was giving her a smile that was different from the ones she’d been giving everyone else all night. It was a smile, Dani realized, that she’d only seen Jamie give her. It was a smile that radiated warmth and adoration and made Dani feel like she was the only person in the world Jamie wanted to be looking at.

“Hello, Poppins,” Jamie greeted as she lifted her plastic cup to her lips and took a sip of whatever was inside. “You enjoying the party?”

“Yeah,” Dani replied automatically as all her previous frustration and irritation melted away at the sound of Jamie’s voice. “Are you?”

Jamie nodded as she glanced around. “Yeah, it’s not too bad,” she decided as she raised her cup, “The free alcohol certainly helps.”

Dani let out a laugh as she lifted her own cup and attempted to take a sip only to remember she’d just finished her drink. “Oh, I guess I need another drink.” She didn’t make any attempt to go and do that though since Jamie had only just arrived and she didn’t want to risk her moving on to chat with someone else while Dani was at the drinks table.

“Want me to get you something?” Jamie offered, quirking her eyebrow at the way Dani made no attempt to correct the problem.

“No, that’s okay,” Dani replied with a shake of her head since she didn’t want Jamie wandering off either. Her gaze dropped down to the cup in Jamie’s hand. “Maybe I can have a sip of yours?”

Jamie seemed rather pleased by the request as she held the cup out to Dani, “Fine by me.”

Dani flashed her a grateful smile as she took the plastic cup and raised it to her lips. She could see the way Jamie was watching her, her gaze now fixed on her mouth and it took a great deal of effort not to break into an excited grin as she took a small sip.

Whatever she’d been expecting to be in the cup was certainly not what she got as the strong whiskey burned down her throat. She figured she should have been tipped off by the smell before the liquor even hit her tongue, but she’d been too damn distracted by Jamie staring at her lips to really let it register.

Now she was paying for it as she let out a cough, only small, but unfortunately a far cry from the smooth and confident move she’d been going for.

“You alright?” Jamie asked as she shifted closer in concern.

“Yeah,” Dani nodded and sent her a smile to ease her worry. “Just stronger than what I was expecting,” she explained as she handed Jamie her cup back.

Jamie chuckled as she accepted the cup, her fingers brushing gently over Dani’s. “Well, I was gonna start off with a beer, maybe some wine. But when I walked in and saw you looking like that, I knew I was going to need something a lot stronger to get through the night.”

Dani couldn’t hide the flattered grin that spread across her face at the compliment. The fact that Jamie had been so affected by her even from across the room made her feel giddy. Perhaps Jamie had only been keeping her distance for so long to try to get a hold of herself, or perhaps she’d simply been working up the nerve to approach her in the crowded room.

The thought eased the rest of the lingering frustration from earlier in the evening. It also caused a complete reversal of the decision she’d been nearly set on just a few moments ago.

“Do you want to take a walk?”

Jamie’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, but then she was quickly nodding, “Yeah, I’d love to.”

Dani smiled as she began to lead the way towards the exit to the cafeteria. She purposely kept her gaze focused straight ahead, knowing that even catching a glimpse of Eddie out of the corner of her eye might be enough to weaken her resolve and cause guilt to set in.

She tossed her empty cup in the recycling bin on the way out, watching as Jamie quickly threw back the rest of her drink before doing the same. She smirked as she wondered if it had been a shot of liquid courage to ease Jamie’s nerves, or if it had been a celebratory shot because she was confident about where this was headed.

Either way, she didn’t mind – the thought of encountering either a nervous Jamie or a cocky Jamie caused heat to spread throughout her body before settling low in her abdomen.

They made idle chatter as they wandered the halls, exchanging bits of gossip they gleaned from co-workers or things they’d observed at the party so far. But then Dani’s classroom came into view and it was all she could do to nod along to the story Jamie was telling and pretend she was still listening to anything other than the sound of her heart thumping loudly in her chest. She found she wasn’t feeling hesitant though; she was nervous, sure, but mostly she found that she was excited.

As they approached her classroom, she grabbed Jamie’s wrist and pulled her toward the door - the door that Dani had left unlocked earlier that day. She wanted to deny that it had been intentional, sometimes she just forgot to lock it at the end of a busy day. But she’d had the key in her hand, had hesitated, and ultimately decided to leave it unlocked _just in case_.

She twisted the knob and dragged Jamie into the room behind her. She dropped her hand once they were inside so she could flip on the lights and lock the door behind them.

“What’s this about?” Jamie asked as she wandered farther into the room before turning to face Dani. The smirk on her face made it clear she wasn’t exactly oblivious to what being in a locked classroom meant.

Dani took her time walking closer to Jamie, who was casually leaning against her desk and looking entirely too smug. The hungry look in the gardener’s eyes as she approached only made her confidence grow until her nerves were but a mere buzz in the back of her mind.

“I thought you might want your present,” she explained as she continued forward until she was standing in front of the other woman. She watched as Jamie’s gaze traveled down her body, the excitement in her expression undeniable. However, she made no attempt to do anything else until she got a response, patiently waiting with her hands clasped behind her back.

Jamie finally met her gaze again and seemed to realize she was waiting for a reply. “I swear, Poppins, if you’re about to pull some wrapped gift out of that desk of yours, I’m gonna be fuming. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but it’s just…”

A laugh escaped Dani and she regretted not planning something like that as an initial fake out. It would have made the buildup even better. As it was, she was nearly vibrating with the anticipation of Jamie seeing the surprise she had for her. Instead of giving a verbal response, she took another step closer and took one of Jamie’s hands. She led it her hip and placed it on the tie of her black wrap dress that she’d specifically picked out for tonight because it was the closest thing she could find to allowing Jamie to unwrap her present.

She watched as Jamie roughly swallowed before tugging at the tie on her hip. Her other hand came up to help the two sides of the dress fall open to reveal the lacy red lingerie set she’d purchased earlier that day. She’d forgone the more elaborate sets with garters and stockings as it had all been a bit overwhelming at the time. But watching as Jamie’s jaw dropped and her eyes turned nearly black with lust, she couldn’t help but feel pleased with the choice she’d made. Jamie certainly didn’t seem to be complaining.

“Christ, Dani” Jamie exhaled when words finally returned to her. However, her eyes still had yet to lift higher than her collarbone. “You look absolutely stunning.”

Dani beamed proudly as she shrugged her dress the rest of the way off and let it pool on the floor. “You like it?”

“I fucking love it,” Jamie corrected as she reached over to catch Dani’s hand and pull her closer. “Guess I must have been a really good girl this year, huh?”

Even without the cheeky smile, Dani caught the reference back to what Jamie had said the day before when requesting her present. She also knew there was another question buried beneath the surface.

Technically, Jamie had only asked to see Dani in lingerie, she hadn’t requested anything else, as much as she might have wanted to. Dani knew she was subtly probing, waiting for some sort of permission or indication that she was okay with taking things a step further. A step that Dani really shouldn’t be taking given her relationship status. It was so very wrong to have already gone this far and to even be considering going any further – but she realized she didn’t care. She felt like she was going to combust if she didn’t feel Jamie’s hands on her.

“You have,” Dani agreed with a smile that turned decidedly more seductive as she leaned closer to whisper in Jamie’s ear, “But I haven’t.”

Jamie let out a low growl as she recognized the teasing comment as the invitation that it was as she turned her head to capture Dani’s lips in a fervid kiss as her hands immediately gripped her waist.

A soft gasp escaped Dani. She couldn’t believe she was actually kissing Jamie. After months of flirty comments and heated gazes dropping to temptingly full lips, they were finally doing something about the tension that had been building between them. Her hands came up to rest on Jamie’s shoulders as she returned the kiss.

Jamie pulled her closer, her hands slipping around her waist to stroke over the exposed skin of her lower back. Her lips moved eagerly against Dani’s, setting a frantic pace that was sure to result in swollen lips in no time at all, but Dani didn’t mind.

She found the only thing she cared about at the moment was Jamie’s warm hands on her body and her soft lips against hers. She trailed her hands over Jamie’s shoulders before slipping into her hair to keep her close. However, there didn’t seem to be any real danger of losing the proximity between their bodies given the way Jamie was holding her.

The fingertips trailing her back, hips, and sides were sending thrilling little shocks through Dani as Jamie changed up the pressure from feather-light touches to firm presses of her fingers into Dani’s soft flesh. She was growing increasingly frustrated by not being able to feel Jamie in the same way until she eventually pulled away from the kiss.

“You have too many clothes on,” she explained breathlessly as she began tugging at Jamie’s shirt to try to unbutton it. Her impatience was proving to be a real barrier to the finger dexterity needed to easily work the small buttons through their holes and she let out a huff of frustration.

Jamie chuckled and she gently guided Dani a step back to allow her to stand up from where she’d been leaning against the desk. Jamie’s fingers seemed far less clumsy as she easily unbuttoned her shirt and let it slip from her shoulders to join Dani’s dress on the floor. Without Dani even needing to ask, Jamie also removed her trousers and shoes and added them to the growing pile of clothes.

Dani let her gaze drift over Jamie’s body, finding the gently toned muscles, lithe form, and gentle curves to be very different from what she was used to. But she couldn’t deny the sight of Jamie standing there in a navy bra and panties was just about the hottest thing she’d ever seen.

“Jamie,” she murmured, the name slipped from her lips with such reverence it caused Jamie to give her a soft smile. “You’re so beautiful.”

The smile on the gardener’s face turned into a grin as she stepped closer to eliminate the distance between them once more, her hands coming up to rest on Dani’s waist. “If you think I’m beautiful, you should see yourself. You’re insanely gorgeous.” She caught Dani’s lower lip between her teeth, gave a sharp tug, and then released it, “And so fucking sexy.” In a quick move, she switched their positions, guiding Dani back to sit on the desk.

Dani followed her lead and sat on the edge of her desk, her hands clutching at Jamie to draw her closer. “Jamie…” she whimpered, the name coming out less reverently than before and instead, full of thinly-veiled desperation.

“Yes, love?” Jamie whispered as she leaned down to bring her lips to Dani’s neck.

Dani’s fingers dug into Jamie’s back as she tilted her head to allow more room for Jamie’s mouth to explore. She wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to ask for; all she knew was that she had never been as turned on in her life and she felt like she was going to explode if Jamie kept working her up with no relief.

“Touch me,” she pleaded.

She heard Jamie’s breath catch at her words and a moment later, she felt teeth sinking into her neck, but only briefly, as if Jamie was being careful not to leave marks. Dani knew she would appreciate that later even if it was a little frustrating in the moment.

She had expected the words to spur the other woman into action, but Jamie seemed to be set on moving at her own pace as she trailed kisses down to Dani’s collarbone. Dani quite enjoyed the hot kisses and eager nips Jamie was leaving along the way, so she didn’t complain. One of her hands wound its way into Jamie’s curls while the other rested flat on the desk behind her. Her back began to arch as Jamie moved lower, placing kisses along the swell of each breast.

The sensation of a warm, wet mouth closing over her nipple through the thin lace of her bra sent a shockwave through Dani. A high-pitched moan slipped from her lips as she arched her back even further. A tongue ran over the hard peak, followed by the tug of teeth and then Jamie’s mouth was gone – but only to give the same attention to her other breast.

Her grip on Jamie’s hair tightened as she pulled her even closer, silently begging Jamie to do something more. Jamie seemed to pick up on her not so subtle desperation and reached a hand behind her back to unclasp her bra.

Dani shifted so she could help remove the garment, allowing Jamie to throw it behind her, before her hand returned to grasp brown curls. Without the barrier of the lace, Jamie returned to teasing Dani’s breasts with her mouth, tongue, and teeth.

Dani began to squirm on the desk as her breath began to escape in eager gasps. What Jamie was doing felt incredible, but it wasn’t giving her the relief she so desperately needed.

As if sensing her impatience, Jamie slipped a hand between her thighs and pressed hard enough to draw a gasp from Dani; quickly followed by Dani shifting against her palm to try to create some friction.

Jamie nipped at her breast before glancing up with a smirk, “Jesus, you’re absolutely soaked.”

“Yeah?” Dani asked, her cheeks flushed as she tried to grind down against the hand between her legs. She knew if she wasn’t quite so worked up, she might feel embarrassed by Jamie’s assessment. However, the only thing on her mind was actually doing something about her overwhelming arousal rather than just talking about it.

“Yeah,” Jamie confirmed with a chuckle as she pulled her hand away, earning a frustrated groan from the blonde. Dani watched as Jamie brought her hand up to drag two fingers down her stomach and she felt her abdominal muscles begin to quiver beneath Jamie’s touch when she realized the drifting fingers were leaving behind a damp trail to illustrate her level of arousal. Jamie hadn’t even gone inside her panties yet, but already her fingers were practically coated.

“Jamie,” she begged for what felt like the hundredth time that night, “Please.”

She watched the smirk slip from Jamie’s face, her smug expression replaced by something much hungrier as she quickly leaned in and captured Dani’s lips in a passionate kiss. It wasn’t what Dani had been pleading for, but she brought her arms up to wrap around Jamie’s neck all the same. She couldn’t say she minded kissing Jamie – not at all, especially not when Jamie’s tongue slid into her mouth.

Jamie’s hands grabbed hold of her panties and began to work them down her hips, causing Dani to release a high-pitched cry of relief into Jamie’s mouth. She kicked her shoes off and lifted her legs enough to make it easier for Jamie to remove the red scrap of lace without breaking their kiss. Once her panties were off, she dropped her legs heavily back to the desk and spread her thighs in anticipation of Jamie’s touch.

Fortunately, Jamie didn’t keep her waiting for long and she soon felt fingers slowly stroking through her folds, seemingly mesmerized by the amount of moisture pooled there. Before Dani had time to grow even more impatient, the fingers slowly dragged up and began moving in circles over her clit.

Dani let out a moan and dug her fingers into Jamie’s shoulders. She was positive she’d never been this needy, driven this out-of-her-mind with lust before; it was torture, but the best possible torture she could imagine.

After taking a minute to figure out what pace, what amount of pressure, what exact placement of her fingers drew the loudest sounds from Dani, Jamie set a steady rhythm. Dani was feverishly kissing Jamie with everything she had, too overwhelmed to even to try to hold back the sounds of contentment she readily let slip into Jamie’s mouth.

She could feel her climax starting to build. It was the quickest she’d ever reached this point, but she knew that had everything to do with the way Jamie had been working her up long before she even touched her. She was so ready to fall apart under Jamie’s touch that she couldn’t find it in her to be upset by how quickly it would all be over as she shifted to press even harder against her fingers.

And then Jamie’s hand was gone and Dani wanted to cry out in frustration. Before she could, two slender fingers began to slowly push inside her. Her grip on Jamie’s shoulders tightened as a drawn-out moan tumbled from her lips. She pulled away from the kiss to rest her forehead against Jamie’s while she tried to catch her breath.

“You okay?” Jamie asked as her fingers stopped once they were fully buried inside her.

“Yeah,” Dani replied with a quick nod and bright smile, not wanting Jamie to mistake her breathlessness for apprehension. “More than okay…but you better keep going.”

“Didn’t plan on stopping,” Jamie promised as she pecked her lips and slowly began to draw her fingers back. She maintained the slow pace until Dani began squirming against her hand, fingers pressing into her back to urge to go faster. Once Jamie began to pick up the pace, she didn’t stop until Dani was releasing a steady chant of ‘yes…just like that…fuck, yes, yes’ as her thighs spread even wider to accommodate Jamie’s rapidly thrusting hand.

Dani dropped her arms from Jamie’s shoulders so she could place them behind her in order to shift her hips even closer to the edge of the desk and closer to Jamie’s hand. She dragged her gaze up from watching what Jamie was doing to her so she could look at the woman bringing her to heights of pleasure she hadn’t previously known possible.

Jamie’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes dark, and her lower lip snared between her teeth as she focused on the hand thrusting inside Dani. Her other hand tightly gripped Dani’s hip to keep her from sliding back on the desk. Dani watched as Jamie’s gaze wandered up until it met her own. A question seemed to flicker behind her eyes before she opened her mouth, releasing her lower lip so she could ask, “Can I taste you?”

Dani felt her elbows buckle slightly at the thought and then she was rapidly nodding. “God yes,” she encouraged as her hips shifted even closer to the edge of the desk, to the point she was nearly hanging off.

An excited grin formed on Jamie’s lips as she dropped to her knees. Her hand only slowed slightly due to the change in position, but then the thrusting fingers resumed their pace. A moment later, she felt a tongue dragging over her swollen clit and her head fell back as she released a loud moan.

It took nearly all the effort she had to pull her head back so she could actually glance down and watch Jamie, but she immediately appreciated the view. Jamie’s tongue worked quickly over her clit, knowing she was close, as her hand maintained the fast pace that was bringing her so close to the edge. The sight of Jamie on her knees, eagerly working to make her come was undoubtedly the hottest thing Dani had ever seen and she felt her orgasm rapidly building.

She murmured the gardener’s name and lust-filled eyes lifted to meet her own. Dani gasped and arched her back, knowing she was right on the edge. Jamie’s name began to leave her lips in breathless, desperate pants until a curl of Jamie’s fingers and flick of her tongue caused Dani’s back to sharply arch as her fingers wrapped tightly around the edges of the desk. A pleasure-filled cry escaped from her lips, seemingly of its own accord for all the control Dani had over it. Jamie continued to work her through the most powerful orgasm she’d ever experienced until she was left panting on her desk, muscles heavy and tired as she slumped forward.

Jamie dragged her desk chair over before taking a seat and encouraging her into her lap. Dani had no complaints as she limply settled onto Jamie’s lap and curled up against her.

“You doing alright there, Poppins?” Jamie asked as she stroked damp strands of blonde hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear.

Dani let out a quiet chuckle as she nodded, nuzzling further into Jamie’s neck as she did so. “Yeah,” she replied with a grin. “That was…incredible.”

“You certainly seemed to enjoy yourself,” Jamie observed as she wrapped her arms around Dani. “Almost as much as I enjoyed doing that.”

Dani was positive there was no way Jamie had enjoyed that more than she did. But the comment still made her smile as she traced her fingers in abstract patterns over Jamie’s arm. Her breathing began to even out as the post-orgasm fatigue started to ebb and Dani found she was replaced with a different kind of desire. A desire to explore.

“Oh yeah?” She questioned as she trailed the fingers up to her shoulder. “And how about if I return the favor. Think you’d enjoy that too?”

She could feel the way Jamie’s breath stuttered as her fingers danced along her collarbone.

“Dani, you don’t have to,” Jamie said quietly. Her tone so earnest that Dani knew there really wasn’t any expectation for things to go any further.

“And if I want to?” She questioned as her fingers traced over the swell of Jamie’s breast.

Jamie was quiet for a moment, as if testing Dani’s resolve to see if it would waver. Finally, she released a breath, “Then yeah, I reckon I’d really fucking enjoy that.”

Dani grinned at the response and tilted her head to place a tender kiss to Jamie’s neck. She slipped a hand into one cup of Jamie’s bra and gently squeezed before her fingers began to roll Jamie’s already straining nipple.

Jamie let out a quiet moan, which only encouraged Dani to try to get more sounds out of her. She was aware they’d already been gone for quite a while so time was of the essence; she removed her hand from Jamie’s bra and began trailing it down her abdomen. She smiled at the way the toned muscles tensed under her touch and kept moving lower until her hand slipped into Jamie’s panties, her fingers stroking gently through her folds.

“You’re so wet,” Dani murmured in pure wonderment.

Jamie let out a low chuckle. “That’s what you do to me, Poppins. Especially after a show like that,” she said as she waved a hand towards the desk.

Dani smirked at the response and placed another kiss to Jamie’s neck as her fingers began to brush over her clit in a circular motion.

A content sigh slipped from Jamie’s lips as she shifted in the chair to spread her legs further for Dani.

Dani marveled at the feel of Jamie, at how wet and warm she was. She’d never touched a woman other than herself, but found she had little anxiety about doing so as her fingers continued to move in tight circles. Perhaps it was the way Jamie was holding her that made her feel so safe, so sure of her movements. Or perhaps it was just excitement at finally doing something she’d only dared to dream of late at night when there was no one to distract her from fantasizing about her innermost desires.

Jamie let out a happy hum and attempted to press her hips up, seeking more pressure from Dani’s hand.

Dani realized their current position wasn’t the best. It was too constricting for Jamie who was limited in her movements by the weight of Dani on her lap. She also could tell her hand would begin to cramp in no time at all if she didn’t change the angle.

She made a decision to benefit both of them by standing up from the chair. She tried not to laugh at the surprised whine that left Jamie’s mouth as she did so. Instead, she fixed her with a warm smile as she grabbed her hand and tugged to indicate she wanted her to stand up.

“Take those off,” she instructed as she dropped her hand to pull gently at the top of her underwear. She stepped back while Jamie followed her instructions and turned to quickly rid the desk of the remaining items that hadn’t fallen to the floor while Jamie had been roughly fucking her with her fingers.

Once the desk was clear she turned back to find that Jamie had removed both her panties and her bra and Dani took a moment to just admire her body before her lustful gaze met Jamie’s. “Lay down,” she said as she stepped away to allow Jamie to approach her desk.

She couldn’t deny how it spiked her own arousal to watch Jamie wordlessly following her directions; Jamie, who so often had a playful quip or teasing comment ready to go, now seemed to have nothing to say as she laid on her back, knees bent as her heels rested on the edge of the desk.

Dani decided she quite enjoyed the view and burned it into her brain to remember for later. But right now, she knew Jamie needed her; was practically aching from her, judging from the pleading gaze on Jamie’s face as she waited for her.

Dani moved forward and crawled onto the end of the desk between Jamie’s bent legs. She paused for a moment to assess the sturdiness of the desk, but it seemed to have little problem supporting the weight of the two women as it neither shifted nor creaked as Dani adjusted her position between Jamie’s thighs.

She brought one hand back to Jamie’s center and resumed the tight circles over her clit, drawing a grateful gasp from the woman beneath her. She leaned forward and placed her other hand flat on the desk by Jamie’s head to help support her weight as she ducked down to kiss her.

Jamie enthusiastically returned the kiss as her hands came up to cup her face, holding her close.

Dani slipped her tongue into Jamie’s mouth, delighting in the blissful little sounds she continued to pull from the woman shifting on the desk underneath her. She was fairly certain that if she kept up her current pace for another minute or two, she’d have Jamie falling apart beneath her. Even though she desperately wanted to see that, she wasn’t ready to be done yet. She wasn’t finished exploring.

She pulled back from the kiss, watching as Jamie chased her lips for a moment before letting her head drop back against the desk. Dani smiled as she leaned back until she was sitting on her heels between Jamie’s legs. After a moment of just watching herself work her slick fingers over Jamie’s clit, she paused the steady rhythm she’d set and slid her fingers lower to circle her entrance.

To Jamie’s credit, she didn’t express the frustration she must have felt by Dani’s sudden change of course when she’d been so close. Instead, she licked her lips as she let her thighs fall open wider in encouragement.

Dani held her gaze and gave her an excited smile as she slowly slid one finger into Jamie. She reveled in the sensation of tight, wet heat welcoming the intruding digit.

Jamie moaned and her hips lifted slightly from the desk, pressing toward Dani’s hand to encourage her deeper.

She could see the impatience in Jamie’s gaze and knew that although the gardener would never rush her in her cautious explorations, she was eager for more. Dani was more than happy to deliver as she gave a few thrusts of her finger before pulling it back only so she could enter Jamie again with two fingers.

Jamie’s eyes slipped closed as her mouth opened around a near-silent gasp. Her hands wrapped around the edges of the desk as her hips began to rise and fall in time to the pace Dani set with her thrusting fingers.

Dani couldn’t believe how arousing it was to simply watch Jamie react to her touch. She could feel the affect it had on her own libido as she felt the wetness dripping between her own thighs as she fucked Jamie into her desk.

“Dani,” Jamie breathed out as she looked at her with hooded eyes that looked more black than green.

She gave a little nod, understanding it to be a warning her she was getting close. She turned to drop a kiss to Jamie’s bent knee. It was only then she realized how much her legs were truly straining, either due to her impending orgasm or from the effort of trying to remain on the desk without slipping off, she wasn’t sure. She decided to help alleviate some of the potential discomfort by using her free hand to encourage a leg over her shoulder. Before she could reach for the other, it dropped over the edge of the desk, opening Jamie up even wider to Dani’s rapidly pumping hand.

Dani couldn’t complain about the view that this position offered her. Jamie’s slick folds glistened in the light of the room and she looked so ridiculously tempting that Dani didn’t have time to fully process what she was about to do before she dropped her head down to taste her.

“Fuck!” Jamie yelped, though nothing about her reaction seemed to protest the sudden action. Her heel dug into Dani’s back to encourage her while one hand released its white-knuckled hold on the edge of the desk to bury itself in Dani’s hair.

Encouraged by the response, Dani continued to drag her tongue through Jamie’s folds, savoring the taste of the other woman. Her fingers continued to pump in and out of Jamie as she focused her tongue on the swollen, straining bundle of nerves that she knew most needed her attention.

“Dani, fuck…Dani,” Jamie moaned, her grip on blonde hair tightening, tugging in a deliciously pleasant way. Her hips were eagerly rocking in time with Dani’s thrusts, pressing her up harder against the warm tongue teasing her clit.

As eager as Jamie seemed to be to reach her climax, Dani found she was looking forward to it just as much. She couldn’t wait to see Jamie come apart for her. She didn’t have to wait much longer as it only took a few more determined swipes of her tongue before Jamie’s back was arching off the desk, a gasp escaping her lips as she used her hold on blonde hair to desperately press Dani closer.

Dani felt her own heart pounding as she kept up her actions. She helped Jamie through her orgasm until the gardener collapsed heavily back onto the desk. Her hand gave a final, weak tug on Dani’s hair before it dropped to grab her wrist to still its movement.

Dani sat back on her heels as Jamie’s leg slipped from her shoulder to hang off the other side of her desk. She gazed down at the flushed woman beneath her; Jamie was covered in a thin layer of sweat and had a euphoric look on her face as she smiled breathlessly at Dani.

A proud smile spread across Dani’s face as she crawled up Jamie’s body. She rested most of her weight to the side of the spent woman as she curled up beside her as best she could on the small surface of the desk, half her body draping over Jamie’s.

Jamie tugged her closer, allowing her to fully rest on top of her as her arms wrapped loosely around her back. “Jesus Poppins,” she murmured as she lifted her head to place a tender kiss to Dani’s shoulder.

“Good?” Dani questioned even though she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

Jamie let out a soft chuckle as one hand stroked gently along her spine, “Best damn Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.”

Dani grinned at the response and shifted so she could place a soft kiss to her lips, “Same here,” she murmured.

They laid wrapped up in each other until the guilt that Dani had successfully managed to keep at bay for so long began to creep back into her consciousness. She knew Eddie was somewhere in the building probably wondering where she was. Maybe he was already looking for her. That thought was like a bucket of ice water to her libido and she quickly sat up. The private moment between her and Jamie had been absolutely incredible and she didn’t want anything to ruin it.

The fact that Jamie didn’t even question her as she slipped off the desk and began getting dressed spoke to the fact that they both knew that what happened was wrong. But damn if it didn’t feel like the most _right_ thing that Dani had ever done. She met Jamie’s gaze as the gardener began getting dressed as well, trying to silently convey that she didn’t regret what they’d just done.

She wasn’t sure if Jamie caught on to the exact sentiment she was trying to communicate, but it was enough to bring a smile to Jamie’s face. When they were both dressed, Jamie hesitantly stepped forward to wrap her arms around Dani before she dropped a soft kiss to her lips.

“You might want to stop by the ladies’ room on your way back,” Jamie suggested, a small smirk on her face, “You looked like you’ve been well and truly fucked, Poppins.”

A startled laugh escaped from Dani’s lips as she raised a hand to run through her hair. She wasn’t necessarily surprised to hear that as it was exactly how she felt, but she appreciated the heads up.

“You might want to do the same,” she advised as she ran her thumb over Jamie’s swollen bottom lip and eyed the traces of her own red lipstick visible all over Jamie’s mouth, chin, jaw, and neck. “Shall we head that way?” She suggested as she held a hand out for Jamie.

Instead of taking her hand, Jamie simply brought it to her lips and placed a kiss to the back of her hand. “Don’t think I can trust myself not to just take you again once we’re in there. Might defeat the purpose,” she explained with a cheeky grin. “Thought I might stay and clean up in here first. I’ll head to the bathroom a bit later.”

Dani couldn’t ignore the jolt of arousal the thought of Jamie having her way with her in the bathroom caused. But it was too risky so she didn’t allow herself to entertain the idea for long. She glanced around her classroom, realizing the state her desk was in. She was sure it was coated in their sweat and arousal, with the usual papers, books, and pens, either scattered on the floor or hastily piled on the nearby cabinets by Dani.

She let out a little laugh and nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered, knowing Jamie was looking out for her out of the kindness of her heart. It might better serve Jamie’s interests to not protect Dani, to let her walk back out to her husband looking the way she did with a messy classroom that smelled of sex. But she didn’t. And that only made Dani want her all the more.

She began to head towards the exit, but paused when her hand hit the door knob and glanced behind her. “Would you want to…hang out or something over the break? It’s just that two weeks is a long time. It would be nice to see you.”

Jamie seemed equal parts amused and delighted by her request. “I’d love to. You still have my number, yeah?”

Dani nodded; she’d been overjoyed when she’d received the gardener’s phone number last month but she hadn’t had a good enough reason to use it…until now.

“Call anytime, I’ll be waiting.”

Dani couldn’t help but wonder if there was a deeper meaning to those words. Perhaps Jamie’s subtle indication that she was willing to wait for Dani to sort out whatever was going on with her personal life. That she was willing to wait for her.

She gave a smile that she hoped conveyed her appreciation as well as a silent promise that she wouldn’t keep her waiting forever. And then she turned the knob and slipped out into the hall.

* * *

Eddie walked into the kitchen to find his wife at the little table placed in the sunniest window in their kitchen. ‘The coffee nook’ Dani had so affectionately labeled in when they’d been furnishing their new house. Breakfast with Dani in this very spot had always been one of the best parts of his day – but he knew that was about to change.

“Good morning,” Dani greeted with a smile as Eddie dropped into the seat across from her. “Did you sleep okay?”

Eddie started to nod, an automatic response, but he stopped himself. “Not too well actually,” he replied honestly.

A small furrow appeared between Dani’s eyebrows, marring what had been a perfectly content expression. More at peace then he’d seen her in a long time, actually. “Oh no, too much alcohol at the party last night? You don’t usually get a good night’s sleep after a night of drinking.”

“No, it wasn’t that,” Eddie dismissed the idea, insulted that she was chalking his poor sleep up to his own actions when it had nothing to do with that. “I just had something on my mind all night. A problem that I just can’t seem to sort out.”

“Oh?” Dani questioned as she put down the mug in her hands. “Anything I can help with?”

Eddie paused and then nodded, “Yeah, I’d actually like to get your opinion on this.” He shifted in his seat, one hand slipping into the pocket of his pajama pants to wrap around the scrap of fabric stashed in his pocket. He watched as Dani gave him her full attention, ready to help him sort out whatever was on his mind. “I want to know what you would do if you were in my position?”

“And what position is that?” Dani asked, a confused smile on her face.

“Imagine you come home from work one day, and you happen to spot something new your wife has tucked away to wear for the night. Something she’s never bought or worn before.”

He paused and watched as Dani’s eyes widened, her lips parting slightly as if she wanted to say something, but was too nervous to do so.

“So you get excited, right? Think that maybe there’s a special surprise in it for you. Only all through the evening, your wife is really distant, gone completely at some points, and by the end of the night, when she’s tucked in bed fast asleep, you realize you never did get to see that new lingerie set that had been hidden underneath her clothes.”

“Eddie, I…I can explain,” a nervous Dani cut in with wide eyes.

He wasn’t sure if she was actually about to confess to what happened, or if she was simply going to try and lie her way out of what he had seen. Perhaps claiming she had bought the lingerie as a surprise for him, but had simply been too tired to do anything at the end of the night. Either way, he didn’t give her a chance to explain as he kept talking.

“That’s when you find these in the hamper,” he said as he held up her red lace panties from the night before, which he dropped onto the table between them. “And it hasn’t been that long since you both got home from the party, but when you find these, they’re absolutely soaked. I mean, Jesus, they’re drenched in a way that’s surprising because you’ve never seen her that wet before. So then you know…you know there’s someone else. And you don’t whether your wife is just lusting after someone from afar, or if she’s having sex with them, or worst of all, if it’s sex and…love.” He swallowed as his gaze dropped to the table, still having a hard time wrapping his head around that third option.

“So tell me, Dani. What would you do if you were in my situation?” He glanced up to watch her closely for her reaction.

Dani’s eyes were wet with unshed tears, her mouth agape as she stared at him. “Eddie, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

He shook his head. That wasn’t what he was looking for. “Who is it?”

Silence. He gave her a look that must have conveyed enough hurt and desperation for her to eventually speak up. “Jamie.”

He barely caught the whispered name and he racked his brain trying to figure out who Jamie was. Was Jamie the new third grade teacher that Dani had mentioned - the guy who had transferred from a school in Georgia? Or perhaps Jamie was one of the maintenance guys. Dani hardly spoke about any of the staff at school, so it was probably one of them.

“Did you sleep with him?” He asked, knowing that was more important than figuring out who exactly this Jamie asshole was.

Another pause as Dani bit down hard on her lip and dropped her gaze to her lap. And then finally, “Yeah, I…uh, I slept with _her_.”

Edmund’s eyes doubled in size at the unexpected pronoun. Out of all the things he’d expected to hear, all of the unpleasant scenarios that had been flashing through his mind, this was not one of them.

“With…her?” He questioned, making sure he heard his wife correctly.

Dani nodded and looked up again, a single tear sliding down her cheek. “I’m so sorry, Eddie. It was so incredibly…wrong of me to do that last night at the party. I just, I feel so foolish.”

Foolish – an interesting choice of words. That wasn’t to say it wasn’t the right word to use, in fact, it seemed rather fitting for the situation they had found themselves in. “Foolish, yes,” he agreed as he watched Dani dab at her tears with a napkin. “But you’ve also made a fool out of me. I mean, come on Dani, with another woman?”

A few more tears escaped and she quickly tried to wipe them away. “I’m sorry” she whispered, the apology coming out small and broken.

A long pause stretched out between them as Dani tried to regain her composure and Eddie simply watched her. Eventually, he let out a sigh and rested his forearms on the table, leaning closer to his wife.

“Well, what are we going to do?” Despite the hurt and anguish he felt, he still had a shred of hope. If it was a one-time thing, maybe it was just something Dani needed to get out of her system. They’d been together since high school, so she’d never had a chance to experiment with women in college and perhaps she was trying to make up for the missed opportunity.

“We could go to couples therapy,” he suggested, not even waiting for her to respond. “Or we can try to talk it through on our own. Maybe we could take a trip and try to reconnect.”

He glanced up from the table and noticed she was no longer crying, but she had a pained expression on her face. It was the look of resolve in her eyes that tipped him off to the fact that she’d already decided what to do – and there was no ‘we’ about it. At least, not as it referred to him and Dani.

“Oh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Eddie. I was such a dick to him in the last two chapters. Whoops. 
> 
> I feel like the fact this chapter is my favorite and I intentionally saved it for last says something about me. Something probably not very good haha. But I hope you all enjoyed it! 
> 
> Thanks for taking the journey with me through all of these reinterpretations of the Love Actually pairings. I had so much fun writing them and as I mentioned before, there may be some follow up chapters written for select oneshots in the near future :)
> 
> Happy New Year, everyone!


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